Soccer mania grips University of Richmond senior interning with Major League Soccer team

Fourteen hundred soccer fans attending an outdoor watch party erupted in a frenzy of cheering, jumping, and flag-waving when the United States claimed a 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the FIFA World Cup match on July 1. As an intern for Major League Soccer team Philadelphia Union, senior Ellisen Houston was in the thick of things, working the watch party hosted by the team at Union Yards, the fan zone adjacent to its stadium, Subaru Park.

The Wilmington, Delaware, native said she played racquet sports growing up but knew little about soccer. She attended her first soccer game, a World Cup qualifier, during her study-abroad semester in Lisbon, Portugal, in fall 2025.

“The moment I walked into the stadium, I knew I was witnessing something special,” Houston said. “There wasn’t an empty seat in the house, the chants echoed throughout the stadium, and there was this overwhelming feeling of joy and togetherness that I had never experienced at a sporting event before.”

Months later, while searching the sports job platform TeamWork Online for a summer internship, she spotted an opening with Philadelphia Union. She applied and received a job offer three weeks later.

The leadership studies major and business administration minor received a Burrus Fellowship, part of the Richmond Guarantee, to help support her credit-bearing Jepson School of Leadership Studies internship with Philadelphia Union.

As a community relations intern, Houston collaborates with the Union’s public relations and communications departments to plan and stage events that engage the community and promote the team. The ability to be flexible in an ever-changing environment and a willingness to work irregular hours are essential in the professional sports business, she said.

“The first week of my internship, the Union launched an initiative that provides Philadelphia schools with the resources for students to play soccer,” the senior said. “At the launch event, our president, players, and mascot interacted with about 500 school kids.”  

One of her favorite events thus far was Unified Signing Day, hosted by Philadelphia Union for the Special Olympics Unified Sports MLS All-Stars. The All-Stars is an inclusive team comprising players with and without intellectual disabilities.

“We decorated the team’s locker room with jerseys, backpacks, and fliers,” Houston said. “Phang, the Union’s snake mascot, greeted the kids. We announced the team roster, and the kids signed official honorary team contracts. Then the team played a game against the staff.”

When not planning events, the intern reviews donation requests. Nonprofits, fire departments, and cancer research organizations are among those requesting Union swag, such as signed jerseys and game tickets, to offer at their annual auctions, she explained.

“The fans give so much to the Union,” Houston said. “It is only fair for the Union to give back to the fans.”

After staffing three of the World Cup watch parties hosted by the Union as well as several of the Union’s own MLS games, she now considers herself a bona fide soccer fan.

“During my first home game, I went onto the field at halftime to help set up one of our on-field presentations,” Houston said. “The stands were packed, the crowd was on its feet, and the stadium was filled with cheers and excitement. At that moment, I felt the exact same feeling I had standing in Portugal months earlier.

“Soccer is such a huge deal now. Every conversation was about soccer when the city of Philadelphia hosted six World Cup games this summer. Being part of such a pivotal moment for soccer in the United States has been so exciting. It has solidified my desire to work in sports.”