Crackdown on Illegal Immigration Quiets Soccer Fields in Pr. William

"I don't have the teams," he said. "This is what they have nicknamed this county: the Devil's County. They call it Condado del Diablo."

Jose Platero said most players on his team, Fiorentina, told him they will no longer go to Manassas because they have moved or fear their fan base has vanished. Melvin Ortez, president of Honduras de Manassas, is switching his team to a Fairfax league because half of his players are illegal immigrants.

Organizers also cite fear among legal immigrants. The main concern, they say, is whether illegal immigrants who are driven to matches by legal immigrants will be asked for immigration papers if the driver is stopped. Legal fans and players also fear their illegal relatives could be detained on the sidelines.

First Sgt. Kim Chinn, a Prince William police spokeswoman, said passengers would be asked for legal documents only if the officer also suspected them of crimes and of being in the country illegally.

Walter Pereira, 30, a construction worker from Honduras in the United States legally, plays for Juventus Sure¿o, which competes in a Fairfax league and, last year, in the Liga de Woodbridge. His brother Hernan Pereira, 27, also plays but has no legal papers. Neither does brother Felipe Pereira, 25, one of the team's biggest fans. Hernan and Felipe refuse to set foot in Prince William now. So Walter voted with his teammates to drop out of the Woodbridge league.

"I don't want anything to happen to them," said Walter Pereira, who lives in Alexandria. "I have to support them. I am Latino, too."

Leagues in other jurisdictions reported no similar declines, with one exception: A handful of the 14 teams that played in the Springfield Soccer League last year are moving to the District or Maryland, league owner Jose Bonilla said.

"They are afraid of being near" Prince William, said Saul Cardenas, who is moving his team, Atletico Sure¿o, to a District league after playing in Springfield for five years.

Leaders of teams staying in Prince William said they have mostly legal players or are recruiting younger Latinos who are U.S. citizens, a move they said would probably weaken their teams. Others hold out hope that rosters will grow if immigrants see that police are not making mass arrests.

Last weekend in a sunny Manassas cafe, Victor Rivera, owner of Liga Universal de Manassas, held a sparsely attended meeting. Rivera has about 10 teams on board, down from 24 last year.

Chatting turned to questions: Should people carry passports? Would immigration agents raid the soccer fields? They joked about placing newspaper ads: "Players wanted. Unpaid. With papers."

Rivera vowed to keep the league going, even with 10 teams, to "reactivate the people."

"It's like a tornado hit here, and there is dirt everywhere," Rivera said. "We're trying to rebuild."