It was announced yesterday in a press release by Club Deportivo y Social Vida (Vida) that FC New Orleans owner, Omar Romero, has purchased the La Ceiba club.
“We’re excited about this purchase” said club owner, Omar Romero. “The city of La Ceiba is arguably one of the most beautiful areas in all of Central America and Vida is a very popular club with a lot of history. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of it.”
Vida was founded in 1940 and saw domestic success through the 60s and 80s but have struggled to return to those glory days. Most recently, Vida have narrowly escaped relegation numerous times over the last 10 years.
CD Vida in the early years celebrating a national title.
“We want to bring hardware to Vida” added Romero. “We want to see domestic success as well as success in CONCACAF. The goal for us is to give the Vida faithful a quality product on and off the field that they’re proud to be a part of.”
When asked about the connections between his GCPL side, FC New Orleans, and his newly purchased pro club, Omar expressed “We will continue to use FC New Orleans as a way to work with the local talent in New Orleans and the surrounding area. Louisiana has a large Honduran population and over the years we have seen a tremendous amount of talent slip through the cracks. We want to be able to give these young gentlemen an alternative to the current developmental pyramid in the US.”
Erick Gunera has featured in eight contest for FC New Orleans this season. Photo credit: Marshall Roy
Upon sharing the club’s sentiment on finding local talent in the New Orleans area, current FC New Orleans midfielder, Erick Gunera, will be the first to reap the benefits of joining Vida’s academy. Going into his senior year at the age of 16, Gunera, has recently enjoyed success at the youth ranks with the Louisiana Fire Juniors and East Jefferson High School.
“The kid has incredible talent and a bright future in the game” said Louisiana Fire coach Keir Hannity. “It’s not a surprise he’s being picked up by a pro academy. It will be great for his development.”
Joining Gunera in La Ceiba are a few fellow FC New Orleans team mates, Huber Lopez, Gilberto Perez, Jesus Benitez and Moises Madrid. All having contributed to FC New Orleans’ success in the GCPL this summer.
Top left: Moises Madrid; Top right: Huber Lopez; Bottom left: Gilberto Perez; Bottom right: Jesus Benitez. Photo credit: Marshall Roy
“We brought in a good amount of pro level players this season to set the standard of quality we want at FC New Orleans” Romero added. “We will continue to use FC New Orleans as our second team to Vida and we will be using the GCPL as a scouting network to hopefully find some diamonds in the rough.”
Omar Romero, a Houston native, is the owner of Latino Broadcasting Corporation that has radio stations in both New Orleans (La Calle 97.1) and Houston (Amor 93.7).
Honduran news source: https://www.diez.hn/liganacionaldehonduras/1302430-498/empresario-salvadoreno-derecho-vida-la-ceiba-liga-nacional-honduras-new-orleans
For more information about Club Deportivo y Social Vida please visit http://www.cdsvida.hn/
