Soccer for Success provides free after-school soccer programming to thousands of children in grades K-8, offering them a safe environment to exercise daily, work with mentors, and develop important life skills. Experienced trainers supervise each session and provide participants with soccer instruction, healthy lifestyle information and educational support.

The U.S. Soccer Foundation launched four Soccer for Success pilot programs in Los Angeles, CA, Washington, D.C., Chicago, IL, and Houston, TX with plans to expand to New York, NY in 2010. We develop partnerships and coalitions, working with Federal and State Governments, local municipalities, and community-based non-profits to fund and implement programs that use soccer to teach children various life skills.

Video: Washington, DC Soccer for Success Program

VIDEO: Houston Soccer for Success Program featured on KHOU News 11

Overview of Current Soccer for Success Cities
Chicago, IL: Illinois Youth Soccer
Washington, DC: United for DC
Houston, TX: Soccer for Success Program
Los Angeles, CA: Cal South and Kids in Sports LA
(New York, NY: Coming Soon)

Chicago, IL: In 2008, the Foundation awarded a three-year grant to Illinois Youth Soccer Association (IYSA) to support programming and field development in the urban core of Chicago.

IYSA’s Inner City Program brings soccer to children living in Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) developments through programs with the Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Park District, and various community youth centers. The inner-city program currently operates in a dozen locations across Chicago, providing hundreds of young people with opportunities to play and enjoy soccer while also keeping them off the street and away from drugs and other risky behaviors.

The Foundation's support is helping IYSA expand its soccer programs to communities where soccer was non-existent,  providing more than 900 underserved children with opportunities to play. During the first summer of the program, IYSA created six new soccer programs and more than doubled their estimated number of participants.

The funding has also given IYSA the freedom to train and pay quality coaches to make its inner city programs fun and sustainable. Additionally, IYSA has utilized the Foundation's support as leverage in securing additional funding from partners like the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Fire.

Washington, DC: In January, 2008, the Foundation launched the Urban Soccer Initiative in Washington, DC to support the Boys and Girls Club Robert V. Murray Clubhouse #11 in Ward 8 – one of the most underserved areas in the Nation’s Capital. 

Ward 8 residents suffer constant hurdles to maintain the standard of living that much of the outlying areas of the city enjoy. According to the 2007 Ward 8 Economic Summit, the region suffers from unemployment rates 43 percent higher than the city at large, a median household income less than half of the District average, and a 19 percent lower high school graduation rate. While alcohol, drugs, and gangs are all within walking distance, residents must travel outside their borders to enjoy almost anything beneficial to them and their community.

Funding from the Foundation helped turn a run-down parking lot next to the Boys and Girls Club into a brand new Synthetic Grass Mini-Pitch. The field enabled the Boys and Girls Club to diversify its programming and attract children and other community members it would have otherwise never reached. The field has provided a safe outlet for these children to escape the dangers and negative influences of the streets.

In addition, the Foundation provides funding to the United Soccer Club, an after-school Program run by United for D.C., to expand its soccer programming. With the assistance of the Foundation, the United Soccer Club increased its reach beyond Ward 8 to include children from Wards 1,5 and 7. The Club is now able to provide programming twice a week due to the additional field space created by the Mini-Pitch.

Houston, TX: The Foundation is partnering with Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD), Houston Independent School District (HISD) and the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer (MLS) to launch an after-school program called Soccer for Success. Soccer for Success is designed to grow the sport of soccer among at-risk (predominately Hispanic and African-American) children who live in low-income, underserved Houston communities.

The program kicks off in Fall 2009 and operates during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years. Over the two year cycle, Soccer for Success aims to reach a targeted 1,500 HISD children from disadvantaged urban communities. Through a collaboration of resources from HPARD, HISD, the Houston Dynamo and the U.S. Soccer Foundation, the program engages 3rd – 8th grade students in a fun, supervised, after-school soccer program that teaches the fundamentals of soccer, builds life skills and promotes a healthy lifestyle.

Los Angeles, CA: In 2009, the Foundation joined CalSouth and Kids in Sports LA to provide opportunities for 2,000 children in vulnerable communities to play soccer and keep them away from gang activity. The number of participants is expected to grow to 6,000 in the next three years.