LOS ANGELES (Monday, July 9, 2018) – The LA Galaxy have partnered Street Soccer USA to host the first Street Soccer USA Cup – Los Angeles on Saturday, Aug. 18 at Microsoft Square at L.A. LIVE, showcasing LA’s vibrant street soccer culture on two custom-built street soccer stadiums. The event is the annual centerpiece of non-profit Street Soccer USA’s LA programming, with all event proceeds supporting Street Soccer USA and LA Galaxy Foundation’s efforts to support low-income and homeless youth in Los Angeles through soccer.
The event will include teams from Street Soccer USA’s programs at the Children’s Institute, Operation Progress in Watts, and The Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row playing in a youth showcase, followed by a celebrity and elected officials match at mid-day. The tournament then moves on to crown the street soccer champion of Los Angeles with a daylong competitive tournament of 4v4 street soccer. The event is free and open to the public. Street Soccer USA Cup presenting sponsor, the LA Galaxy Foundation will field a team of Galaxy Legends. For more information on the event, visit www.streetsoccerusa.org/l-a-cup.
Street Soccer USA is a national non-profit organization which harnesses the power of the world's game to create a more level playing field for all. In Los Angeles, the program enrolled over 230 participants this spring in its free community club programs in Watts and Skid Row, but the initiative is just getting started with programs rolling out this fall with LAUSD’s Homeless Education Program and other partners. The goal is to help people and communities thrive off the field and address the specific needs of some of the 17,500 homeless youth in Los Angeles.
Thanks to the Los Angeles City Council, the LA84 Foundation and brands like UNIQLO, ESPN's 2018 Sport Humanitarian Award Finalist which has outfitted all street soccer players in new look gear, Street Soccer USA has brought its award-winning program to homeless and at-risk youth across Los Angeles this year.
“The transformational power of sport is saving lives in our communities,” said Renata Simril, President and CEO of the LA84 Foundation. “The physical and emotional benefits of sport and structured play gives kids confidence and hope, and the LA84 Foundation strongly supports programs like Street Soccer USA providing #PlayForAll access to improve the quality of life for our youth who need it most.”
“The vision is a level playing field for all. There is so much energy around the growth of soccer in the United States right now and the opportunity to harness that energy and use it as a transformational tool on a large scale, I think that is what brings us all together,” commented Tim Howard, the standout goalkeeper of the United States in the past few FIFA World Cups, and new Street Soccer USA National Board Member.
Indeed, the LA program is part of a national movement started years ago but brought into focus by current events; the stress and animosity aimed at immigrant communities, the rising issue of homeless families, and the US Soccer team’s failure to qualify for this summer’s World Cup coupled with the 2026 World Cup coming the United States with major matches to be hosted in Los Angeles.
The Street Soccer USA Cup - Los Angeles is the third event in the Cup Series that includes parallel events in Times Square New York on July 14th, and Union Square San Francisco on July 28th. All are hosted in cities where city government support and the private sector have come together to grow the sport of soccer as a tool for youth development and social integration through Street Soccer USA.
Street Soccer USA Founder and President, Lawrence Cann, added, "Our commitment to our communities is long term. Our Cup Series is part of building and sustaining that long-term commitment. In today's environment, where immigrant communities feel under threat and with the opportunity of the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics in LA, it's more important than ever that we build strong community institutions; it's silly to think that soccer shouldn't be one of the cornerstones of those institutions."
ABOUT STREET SOCCER USA
Street Soccer USA is a 501c3 nonprofit organization with a mission to build life-changing community-based sports programs that reach the least served communities across the United States including homeless youth and adults, people in recovery and other special needs populations. By creating safe places to play and supplying trained, caring coaches, social service coordinators, their curriculum, and top-notch equipment, Street Soccer USA improves the personal capacity of its participants to achieve bigger goals in terms of education and employment. Street Soccer USA operates social enterprises that include revenue generating leagues and tournaments that leverage private donors and corporate responsibility donations to fund in-school, after school, community-based club, and adult programs that improve the future of youth and young adults.
ABOUT LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT HERB WESSON
Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson is supporting the launch of Street Soccer USA’s pilot program in Los Angeles. Street Soccer USA's Street Soccer LA Pilot Program creates front-end engagement through community soccer clubs targeting the least-served youth and young adults in Los Angeles, including homeless youth, who are expected to be one-third of the program’s participants. Street Soccer USA's first on-the-ground program partner is Children's Institute, Inc.
ABOUT THE LA84 FOUNDATION
The LA84 Foundation is a nationally recognized leader in support of youth sport programs and public education about the role of sports in positive youth development. The foundation, with 30+ years of on-the-ground experience, has supported thousands of Southern California youth sports organizations through grantmaking, while also training coaches, commissioning research, convening conferences and acting as a national thought leader on important youth sports issues. LA84 levels the playing field so that sport is accessible to all children, while elevating the field of youth sports as an integral part of American life. To learn more, visit www.la84.org and @LA84Foundation on Twitter and Instagram.
ABOUT LA GALAXY FOUNDATION
The LA Galaxy Foundation, the 501(c)(3) organization associated with the LA Galaxy, is dedicated to assisting the community in which the team lives, works, and plays. LA Galaxy players, coaches, alumni and staff spend countless hours giving back to the community at local schools, hospitals, fields, and events. The LAGF continually strives to aid organizations that meet its mission of supporting and creating education, health, and soccer-related activities and programs for youth in the greater Los Angeles area.
