Black Players for Change & Black Women’s Player Collective Mini-Pitch Initiative

To provide greater access to soccer for Black children in communities nationwide, the U.S. Soccer Foundation teamed up with Black Players for Change, Black Women’s Player Collective, adidas, and Musco Lighting in 2020. The group committed to installing 12 mini-pitches by the end of 2021. One year after the partnership launched, 18 new mini-pitches were installed in 14 communities nationwide. 

The initiative is part of BPC’s and BWPC’s efforts to ensure the next generation of Black players have a voice, leadership opportunities, and an equitable stake in the game.

Full list of sites:

  • BGC Clairemont Branch – San Diego, CA
  • Charles Robertson Park – Sacramento, CA*
  • Col. Charles Young Playground – New York, NY
  • Computech Middle School – Fresno, CA
  • Cullen Middle School – Houston, TX
  • George M. Hampton Middle School – Woodbridge, VA
  • Hillside High School – Durham, NC
  • Holmes Middle School – Alexandria, VA
  • Horizon Middle School – Kissimmee, FL
  • Oscar Charleston Park – Indianapolis, IN 
  • Petersburg Park – Louisville, KY
  • R.H. Dana Middle School – Hawthorne, CA
  • Roberta T Smith Elementary School – Rex, GA
  • West Side High School – Newark, NJ*

*Indicates multiple mini-pitches at this site.

Project Highlights
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What Partners Are Saying

These spaces will be critical to our mission of empowering young Black girls and increasing lasting opportunity for sport and community fostered through play. We hope children of all ages enjoy these pitches and create longstanding, memorable experiences for their communities.
Margaret PurceExecutive Director, Black Women's Player Collective
This is only the beginning of our efforts to grow the game in Black communities and we look forward to scaling nationwide in order to ensure equitable access to soccer for the next generations.
Justin MorrowCo-Founder and Legacy Member, Black Players for Change
I hope young players view these pitches as a haven to play, compete, and be carefree. Everyone is welcome and I hope the joint involvement of the BWPC and BPC inspires and encourages kids to believe in their own potential and dream big.
Imani DorseyExecutive Board Member, Black Women’s Player Collective
We are committed to investment at all levels of our game, especially at the grassroots level. These mini-pitches address a real barrier—lack of access to a safe place to play—that leaves too many Black youth from having a path to build equity in our game.
Quincy AmarikwaCo-Founder and Executive Director, Black Players for Change
We couldn’t be more proud to join BWPC, BPC, and the U.S. Soccer Foundation in this important endeavor to bring positive change and opportunity to youth in underserved communities.
Jeff RogersPresident, Musco Lighting
It is important that young girls and boys see professional athletes of all genders represented in sport. We are committed to creating safe places to play, breaking barriers to sport, and creating an equal starting line for all young boys and girls of color.
Skate NoftsingerDirector of Soccer Sports Marketing, adidas
The honor and humility I feel through the opening of the mini-pitch at Hampton Middle School runs deep for me. I look back on the youth experiences I had on those very same fields and see a younger version of myself just wanting to play and feel safe. Through my own individual journey, and with the guidance of BPC and U.S. Soccer Foundation, I can smile from within knowing that impact will be made in the lives of the many children who now have access to a space that allows them to play with full freedom.
CJ SapongCo-Founder and Legacy Member, Black Players for Change
Durham has such a rich soccer culture due to its diversity, and I have been beneficiary of the pickup culture that has been established here. Building a mini-pitch in a historically black community is an exciting venture because we will be able to cultivate the next generation of BWPC and BPC leaders that have significant ties to the area. My greatest hope is that this pitch will be a place to celebrate our differences, encourage healthy competition among girls and boys, and share our collective love for the game. I sincerely appreciate the investment that the U.S. Soccer Foundation, Musco Lighting, and adidas have made in my hometown.
Brianna PintoNC Courage / BWPC
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Initiative Partners

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This effort to increase access to soccer in Black communities is helping us make soccer everyone's game.

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