From July 20th-22nd, Street Soccer USA hosted the 8th Annual Street Soccer USA National Cup in Times Square in New York City. This event is one of the premier “sport for social change” events in the country and teams travel from 20 cities across the United States to compete in a weekend full of soccer and sportsmanship. Closing ceremonies on Monday, July 22nd were played on a Foundation -funded Sport Court and featured the men’s and women’s championship games as well as an international friendly between the Chilean national team and Street Soccer USA alumni.
The Chilean team was invited to participate as they will be the hosts of the 2014 Homeless World Cup. The 2013 Homeless World Cup will take place in Poland in September, and players are selected to their national teams both for their soccer skills as well as accomplishments in their lives off the field (enrolling in school, etc.).
Fans who showed up for the matches, or who were simply passing by in Times Square, were treated to fast paced, exciting games that featured a very high level of soccer. Street Soccer plays a 4 v. 4 format (including a goalie). The often high scoring games run for 20 minutes (two ten-minute halves) and one player must stay in the offensive half at all times.
In both the men’s and women’s finals, the teams from Minneapolis, MN emerged victorious.
Dax McCarty and Andre Akpan from the New York Red Bulls stopped by to show their support.
Future Soccer for Success participants got to play an exhibition game, as well!
The Foundation is very proud to support Street Soccer USA and HELP USA in order to provide soccer programming in New York City and across the country. In FY13, the Foundation awarded two grants to these great organizations – a program grant for their New York location and a Sport Court grant for their San Francisco location. Additionally, we are currently building a Sport Court at HELP USA’s Genesis Academy in Brooklyn where they will run the Foundation’s Soccer for Success program starting this fall.
Interested in receiving a grant from the Foundation? The Annual Grants Cycle is now open! Please visit the grants section of our website to learn more about the grants available and how to apply.