In early 2019, the U.S. Soccer Foundation and Johnson & Johnson announced a grant program for organizations working to address the lack of representation of young women in soccer in underserved communities. In June 2019, the two organizations awarded grants to five organizations that will expand opportunities for girls in historically excluded communities and utilize impactful strategies to increase female participation in the sport.
“Soccer is a powerful tool, not only to get young people active, but to teach important life skills that help them succeed on and off the pitch,” said Sarah Pickens, Associate Vice President of Programs at the U.S. Soccer Foundation. “We’re excited that, in working with these grant recipients to address barriers that have excluded girls from the game in the past, we can make sure that more young females are encouraged to play soccer and can reap all the benefits the sport has to offer.”
Johnson & Johnson’s support of this grant program is part of its Because She Can campaign, which is empowering young girls across the country.
“Johnson & Johnson is focused on providing girls with opportunities to grow into strong leaders on and off the pitch,” said Heather Horner, Marketing Manager at Johnson & Johnson. “As part of our Because She Can campaign to empower young women, we’re proud to partner with the U.S. Soccer Foundation to offer assistance to amazing organizations working to develop girls into leaders of the future through soccer.”
2019 Program Grants
Adelante Mujeres
Adelante Mujeres
AdelanteMujeresprovides holistic education and empowerment opportunities to Latina women and their families. TheChicasSoccer Academy was specifically designed to address the academic and social-emotional needs of Latina youth in grades 3-12 by using soccer as a tool to facilitate mentorship and leadership development.
Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative
The Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative operates in schools where socio-economic barriers preventing girls from participating in sportsaregreatest. In this girls-only afterschool program, girls in grades 2-5 participate in one sessionperweek for 16 weeks, where they rotate through various physical activities to build coordination, improve fitness, and have fun.Funding from this grant will allow BAWSI to expand soccer programming an additional two daysper weekat all eight sites, where interest in increased soccer offerings has already been expressed.
San Mateo County SAL
San Mateo County SAL
San Mateo County Sheriff’s Activity Leagueisenteringitsthird year of girls-specific soccer programming, which implementsmentorship and leadership models that are reinforced by data-informed outreach and wraparound services. By removing financial barriers and recruiting female coaches reflective of the population served, San Mateo SAL has doubled participation in girl-specific soccer programming each year since its inception.
South Bronx United
South Bronx United
Led by multi-disciplinary program staff on the field and in school, girls participate in female-centric discussion groups, outreach, and community events. They also fill leadership roles within their team, school, and community. South Bronx United will build out their efforts in three areas: recruitment efforts for more diverse female participants of all ages, the development of a soccer culture for girls in the Bronx, and the addition of an afterschool site for elementary-aged girls.
Starfinder Foundation
Starfinder Foundation
TheStarfinderFoundation uses soccer to inspire social change and transform girls’ lives, one-third of whomare immigrants from communities with limited access to safe places or quality youth development programs.Female coach-mentors support girlsthroughsocial-emotional learning, leadership sessions, life skills workshops, and Youth Council meetings thatshapeparticipants’abilityto coach as they get older.
