Albuquerque Sol FC, New Mexico’s only semi-pro soccer team recently held a design contest to let a fan design the 2017 team scarf. The team scarf is the most popular and most recognizable merchandise item sold by the Sol. Each year, the Sol release a new version of the scarf and it’s changed from yellow, to red, a combination of the two and now to turquoise.

Order your 2017 Official Albuquerque Scarf Now! 

The contest winner, Berenise Miramontes, entered the contest with her design as she was a lifelong soccer player and a fan of Albuquerque Sol. “I’ve been playing soccer my entire life – from youth league all the way through college.” Said Miramontes. “Designing has also been a passion of mine as well. As a beginner designer, I would help design our High School varsity soccer shirts. I pursued my degree in Computational Mathematics. Albuquerque Sol is a very competitive team that is very fun to watch with very talented players. I am beyond excited that I won a contest that has to do with both my passions! I thank the staff for this wonderful opportunity – I had such a great time designing this new scarf!”

Where most New Mexicans will recognize the scarf is from social media platforms where the Sol fans post pictures from all over the world donning their pride for New Mexico colors and their team. Fans will send in pictures of themselves holding up the scarf on their travels. The team posts these pictures on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages with the hashtag #SolSighting accompanying the picture.

“What started as a joke asking fans to travel with their scarves, has taken a life of it’s own.” Commented Sol FC General Manager and ‘Martineztown’ native Larry Espinoza. “Sol Sightings were born at Madison Square Garden, the day after we released the first scarf, when a fan sent the first one in. Since then, we’ve received them from Brazil, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Jamaica, Thailand, Ghana, England, South Africa, many other international destinations as well as most of the 50 states.” The team has received over 200 Sol Sightings in the first three years of operation and they continue to pour in.

The new team scarf is now available for purchase for a limited time at the price of $17.99 in a presale in the Sol FC Online Team Shop. The scarf is being manufactured overseas and shipped to New Mexico. Once the scarves are received here in New Mexico, right around Christmas, the price will increase to $20. You can purchase one at AbqSolFC.com at the discounted price of $17.99 for the next couple weeks.