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Family finds support through soccer after construction deaths

Many of the players who participate in Netapa FC in Charlotte are relatives of José Canaca and have roots in Netapa, Honduras.
Kayla Young
/
WFAE/La Noticia
Many of the players who participate in Netapa FC in Charlotte are relatives of José Canaca and have roots in Netapa, Honduras.

Fundraising continued over the weekend for three men who died after a scaffolding collapsed at a Charlotte construction site on Jan. 2. Amid the week of mourning, families gathered for a friendly soccer match to honor the youngest victim, José Canaca, 26.

The sports fields at Garinger High School, Canaca’s alma mater, were filled with his loved ones Saturday afternoon.

Theday of soccer matches was organized to raise money for his burial, held Monday morning in Mint Hill.

Canaca, originally from Honduras, was the first of the three victims to be buried. Funerals for Gilberto Mónico Fernández, 54, and Jesús “Chuy” Arévalo Olivares, 42, both of Mexico, are planned for Wednesday.

Players and spectators take a moment of silence to honor José Canaca and his co-workers.
Kayla Young
/
WFAE/La Noticia
Players and spectators take a moment of silence to honor José Canaca and his co-workers.

On Saturday, the atmosphere at Canaca’s memorial match felt more like a family gathering — and that’s because it was.

“A lot of the soccer players here are Canacas, his cousins,” explained Wilson Mencia Costa, one of the games' organizers and an extended family member.

Like Canaca, most of the players and spectators have roots in Netapa, a small town in central Honduras.

“We’re blood family,” Mencia Costa said, adding one family invites another, who invites another. That’s how the Netapa FC in Charlotte has grown.


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That family bond is one reason Netapa FC was able to organize a memorial match for Canaca so quickly.

“We all play soccer,” Mencia Costa said, “so we decided to form four teams of our family members and our community.”

More than 100 people turned out for the event to show their support, play soccer and make donations. At halftime, children competed on the pitch for free soccer balls, by trying their best to score a goal.

Each successful goal resulted in a "GOOOLAZO" over the intercom and a free soccer ball.
Kayla Young
/
WFAE/La Noticia
Each successful goal resulted in a "GOOOLAZO" over the intercom and a free soccer ball.

“It’s beautiful to have the support we have here with soccer,” Mencia Costa said, “because that’s how we were raised. It’s our culture, and we’re showing it today.”

Canaca was a fan of skateboarding. But he also came out to watch Netapa FC games and support the family, Mencia Costa said.

“He was a young man who was dedicated to his work, without vices,” Mencia Costa added. He described Canaca as a centered and humble person who was very close to his mother and a believer in God.

Canaca’s parents stood at the sidelines during the matches. Canaca’s father said he had worked alongside his son but he could not comment further due to the ongoing investigation.

Kayla Young
/
WFAE/La Noticia
A donation box says in Spanish that the Canaca family is seeking help after the loss of José Canaca, a son, brother and good friend who was very loved.

One of the day’s game commentators, Oscar Murido, said the fundraiser was a show of solidarity between Latino families and the soccer community. But it also touched on a difficult reality.

Many Hispanic families, he said, don’t have insurance to cover workplace injuries and fatalities, so they have to come together for support.

The families of all three victims took to GoFundMe to cover funeral costs — and all three surpassed its fundraising goals.

María Alcantara, sister in-law of victim Mónico Fernández, said he had lived with her family and they were struggling to explain his sudden absence to his 5-year-old niece. She said Mónico Fernández had lived in the United States for 30 years and helped support family in Mexico by sending money for schooling.

Arévalo Olivares left behind four children and his wife, Marisol.

The North Carolina Department of Labor said they had never conducted an inspection of the Hanover R.S. East Construction project, where the three men died and two others were injured, on East Morehead Street. The site is now closed, pending a state investigation that could take up to six months to complete.

Included in the state’s investigation are Old North State Masonry LLC, Hanover R.S. East Construction LLC and Friends Masonry Construction LLC, where state records indicate the deceased were employed.

According to North Carolina business records, the annual report filings for Old North State Masonry are delinquent.

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Kayla Young is a Report for America corps member covering issues involving race, equity, and immigration for WFAE and La Noticia, an independent Spanish-language news organization based in Charlotte. Major support for WFAE's Race & Equity Team comes from Novant Health and Wells Fargo.