Sports missions
Responding to a local need
For some, sports are so much more than just games. They can provide at-risk children with skills that open the door to healthy relationships and opportunities for education—instead of a life of violence and crime. We provide these children with hope and freedom through community soccer camps and other sports programs.
Provide children with an alternative to violence
Living in countries like Mexico, experiencing extreme poverty, children from the poorest slums and villages are coerced and recruited to fight the battles of dangerous drug cartels. Whether through threats or lack of other options, children join up because they have no choice. But children with soccer skills are less likely to be forced to work for the cartel. Soccer teams and camps give them a safe space to play, learn skills, and be mentored.
Together we can use sports to bring safety and opportunity to at-risk kids.
Soccer programs
Offering a competitive sports programs like soccer (futbol) helps keep at-risk children away from the drug cartels that try to recruit them. But it goes so much further — helping them get an education, develop discipline, a relationship with Jesus and gives us opportunities to guide them out of poverty into a bright future.
Our main focus region for futbol is Latin America but we have seen competitive sports have positive impact in projects around the world. Many of our sponsored children have gotten an education, developed great careers, and even gone on to become professional or semi-professional soccer players.
These programs are unique because they are designed to function at little to no cost to the poorest and highest risk children, and they are structured for conflict prone areas! We use soccer to open doors into dark places and bring hope where it’s hard to find.
Making an Impact
200+
college graduates from Mexican programs
450+
child program graduates in Upper Mekong region
1,700+
children in direct outreach programs
150+
graduates now teachers, government leaders, social workers, health professionals and church workers
Sports Stories
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Setting New Goals Through Soccer
It’s difficult to know how many people have died as a result of the drug war in Mexico. Some estimates put the civilian casualty rate at over 160,000 since 2007, a number that surpasses both Iraq and Afghanistan combined. In the midst of all these numbers are family members: brothers, fathers, women, and sadly, children.
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Omar’s Story: View from the Top
When Omar hears the stories of the children he works with in the Saved by Soccer program, he is truly amazed at how far some of them have come. "In comparison, I had a beautiful childhood. Thank goodness, I didn't have such complicated situations as some of these kids," he said. Still, his passion for soccer and professional success allows him to connect with the participants in a meaningful way.
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A Family Saved by Soccer
In Mexico, the term mamá luchona roughly translates to "scrappy mom," usually referring in a derogatory fashion to a young single mom who has to act as both mother and father to her kids. In recent years, children of single moms have reclaimed the term, telling everyone about their incredible moms who worked twice as hard to provide for their family.
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