She keeps Charlotte FC well-nourished
Plus: Charlotte pursuing U.S. defender Tim Ream; what Bank of America Stadium renovations would mean for soccer; and more!
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Dietitian Alicia Fogarty is known as the ‘team mom’ who ensures soccer players get their nutrients; juggles ‘wide palate’ of international roster
Alicia Fogarty (right) chatting with midfielder Scott Arfield. (Photo by Taylor Banner courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
Some Charlotte FC players have taken to calling team dietitian Alicia Fogarty “mom,” and it makes perfect sense.
There’s something innately maternal, something so nurturing, about meeting the nutritional needs of an entire team of players, especially when you’re the person encouraging them to eat their veggies.
In addition to planning menus for breakfast and lunch at the team practice facility, coordinating pre-game meals for road games, and handing out pre- and post-game snacks, Fogarty will sometimes employ what she calls “stealth health.” It turns out that’s just a catchy way of describing a mom hack from way back.
“We’re incorporating things that are nutrient-rich in the foods that they are used to,” Fogarty said. Translation: Players might be surprised to find out there’s a little extra spinach or flaxseed in a smoothie they are drinking.
Fogarty knows, as a mother of four children ages 9-18, that there are some things you don’t need to spell out, especially when you’re as busy as she is. As if being a mother of four wasn’t enough to fill her time, she spends much of the rest of it feeding an international roster of players in a sport that demands premium conditioning and fitness. That she can provide such personal service to 30-plus players, and the rest of the club staff who eat in the cafeteria, is a testament to her.
“She’s always taking care of our every little qualm, every little detail,” said reserve goalkeeper George Marks.
From pasta to mocktails: For Marks, an uber-disciplined athlete, that means Fogarty is helping time his meals, snacks and protein intake around his workouts, practice and games. For captain Ashley Westwood, it’s been her willingness to take his suggestion and set up a “pasta action station” for road games. Westwood grew accustomed to carbo-loading at a make-your-own pasta bar during his 10 years in the English Premier League.
For Coach Dean Smith, who suffered some dizziness during a recent game against Philadelphia, Fogarty was there after the game, handing him a cup of “sunrise margarita mocktail” to drink on his way from the locker room to the post-game press conference. Fogarty created the carbohydrate and electrolyte-rich concoction she often gives to players for “recovery” out of fruit juice, salt and Perrier.
For midfielder Brandt Bronico, Fogarty helps him with everything from finding the right balance of creatine supplements to take for his pre-game workouts, to drinking tart cherry juice before bed, which is rich in sleep-inducing melatonin.
“I don’t sleep very well, so that helps me get sleep,” Bronico said. “Alicia is the best. I tell her she’s the best dietitian in the league. She takes on a team mom role but offers us a lot of value, especially in recovery and performing optimally. She’s fantastic.”
One of the big challenges for Fogarty is finding ways to please the palates of such an international roster, with players from as far away as Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East and South America to right down the road in High Point.
“They have a very wide palate,” Fogarty said. “They like barbecue, Mediterranean, Italian. We’ve had teriyaki chicken rice bowls. We’ve had Moroccan lamb.”
Fogarty is on the sidelines at practice during the preseason and regular season and attends home games. (Photo by Taylor Banner, courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
As any mother knows, feeding people well can also make them feel at home. Charlotte FC’s front office is known for going above and beyond to try to help new players acclimate, like Rosie Krneta, wife of general manager Zoran Krneta, does with a players’ wives and partners group. Fogarty is doing her part too.
After polling Latin American players from the first team, like winger Kerwin Vargas and the recently transferred striker Enzo Copetti, as well as players for the MLS Next Pro team Crown Legacy, she began adding traditional South America choices to the menu, such as:
Grilled pollo asado with charred lime, which is chicken marinated in citrus juices and zesty spices
Arepas con carne, which are cornmeal cakes stuffed with shredded beef
Ceviche, a fish appetizer prepared with lime juice.
Maduros, which are fried sweet plantains.
“They all love those,” Fogarty said of the plantains.
Fogarty has brought the experience of working 16 years for Atrium Health in Charlotte, providing nutritional support to athletic programs at local high schools and colleges. Working with Charlotte FC has allowed her to focus on one team. After setting up dietary programs and education for Charlotte FC’s Academy and youth teams, she’s been able to work primarily with the first team for the past three years. She travels with them for preseason training and is a fixture at practice, home games and, of course, around the practice facility.
“One of my favorite things in general is working with athletes and helping them achieve their peak performance,” Fogarty said. “Working with this team is also a fun part of the job because they’re a great group of guys. As you can imagine, from what you see in the public eye, they’re all really nice, and they’re all supportive.”
Now she has a whole team of role models she can use to try to influence her own children, when she’s trying to get them to eat their vegetables. Or at least broaden their palate.
“I did have one [of my children] try dumplings recently, which was new,” she said, laughing.
Charlotte FC pursuing U.S. National Team defender
In addition to searching for its next wave of star attacking players, GM Zoran Krneta and coach Dean Smith have maintained they’d like to add a left-footed center back. They’re close to signing one who’s well-known in American soccer circles. Tim Ream, the 36-year-old center back for Fulham FC and star for the U.S. National team, is in advanced talks with Charlotte FC, The Ledger has confirmed. The pursuit was first reported by TopBin90.com.
Ream started all four games for the U.S. in the 2022 World Cup when they advanced to the Round of 16 in Qatar. He’s made 54 appearances for the U.S. National Team in all, starting with his first call-up in 2010. Even as he enters his late 30s, Ream has said it’s his goal to play in the 2026 World Cup.
Ream has spent the past nine seasons, playing 312 games, for Fulham, the club from West London that finished 13th in the English Premier League this season. His contract runs through 2025. Ream did not play for much of the second half of the season after suffering a calf injury in December. He helped Fulham earn Premier League promotion three times and was named their player of the year in 2017-2018.
Ream was born and raised in St. Louis and played for St. Louis University. He was drafted by the New York Red Bulls in 2010 but played only two seasons in MLS before signing overseas with Bolton, which was then in the Premier League.
Charlotte’s back four has proved a strength of the team this season — which is 7-6-4 and holds a winning record halfway through the season for the first time in its three seasons. Ream would presumably have to earn his way onto the field, where center backs Adilson Malanda and Andrew Privett have been a fixture along the backline.
Privett has played every minute of the first 17 games, and Malanda has proven to be one of the budding stars of MLS. Charlotte FC expects to field offers for him from European teams this summer but reportedly has no interest in letting him go just yet. Depth would be welcome at the position though, with Bill Tuiloma the only other experienced center back on the roster.
Renovations to Bank of America Stadium proposed — what would they mean for soccer fans?
(Rendering courtesy of Tepper Sports & Entertainment)
Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC owner David Tepper made big news this week when the city announced plans for renovating Bank of America Stadium, using $650 million in public money and another $150 million from Tepper Sports & Entertainment (in an overall deal worth about $1.4 billion, if you throw in ongoing maintenance costs and credit for past renovations).
The Ledger has provided comprehensive coverage of what the proposal means, what debates lie ahead, and what changes are proposed and by answering readers’ questions. (The City Council is scheduled to vote on the deal June 24 — it is widely expected to be approved.)
For our purposes, the primary question is what will the renovations mean for fans of Charlotte FC? The most obvious — and it has been, really, since Tepper brought soccer to Charlotte — is there won’t be a soccer-specific stadium for this team any time soon. (Neither will there be natural grass or a retractable roof.)
Judging by the upgrades expecting to go in at Bank of America Stadium, and the improved accessibility and overall feel to the stadium and the area around it, sharing a stadium with the NFL team will have its advantages, though.
Our understanding is the changes being proposed center on the overall fan experience — for football, soccer and concerts. Improvements are coming to the stadium’s infrastructure, technological capability, visual and sound systems and more. The biggest changes for Charlotte FC came with the $50 million renovation done in advance of the inaugural season in 2022, which included new locker rooms, a new tunnel at midfield, The Vault lounge, a new wrap-around bar outside the supporters section, etc.
Knowing people at Charlotte FC, though, planners will take into account input from fans as it zeros in on specifics of the renovation, though what will be implemented is yet to be determined.
There have been some interesting suggestions floating around social media this week, ranging from pleas to erect a spooky queen statue like the one in the team’s pre-game video, to bolstering cables used for raising tifos (fan artwork), to building safe standing in the supporters section, which would give fans railing in front and fold-up seats behind to allow more room to stand and cheer. That would be a tough sell for an NFL crowd, though, for games that can last twice as long as a soccer game. Here’s a look at L.A. Galaxy’s safe-standing seating area:
Related Charlotte Ledger articles on stadium renovations:
“City proposes spending $650M toward stadium renovation” (June 3)
“The 8 biggest changes proposed for Bank of America Stadium” (June 4)
“The economics of stadium renovations” (🎧 podcast, June 5)
“How Charlotte’s stadium deal compares with deals in other cities” (🔒, June 7)
Up Next: Bye
Charlotte FC is off this Saturday and will return to action on Saturday, June 15, at Bank of America Stadium against DC United.
Charlotte FC improved to fifth place in the Eastern Conference after an impressive 3-2 win in front of some 2,000 Charlotte FC fans who traveled to Atlanta. Winger Liel Abada scored two goals for his first multi-goal game as a member of Charlotte FC.
Carroll Walton is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution now in her third season covering Charlotte FC. She would love to hear from you. E-mail her with questions, suggestions, story ideas and comments!
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