Success Academy Soccer Program – New York

THE PURPOSE

The Soccer Program was created with the goal of making soccer accessible to everyone, breaking down barriers related to origin, race, religion, or financial status. In the United States, soccer is often perceived as an elite sport, made inaccessible to much of the population due to the pay-to-play model. This inequality is even more evident in a multicultural city like New York, where social and economic disparities run deep.

For this reason, the project focuses primarily on the neighborhoods of Brooklyn, Manhattan (Harlem), Queens, and the Bronx, where many families face significant financial hardships and cannot afford quality education or paid sports programs. Success Academy is committed to promoting lasting socio-cultural change by offering disadvantaged children access to high-level sports and educational training. At the same time, the initiative contributes to the development of soccer in the United States, with a particular focus on the public school system.

BENEFICIARIES

Currently, the Soccer Program supports 450 boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 15, all students at charter schools in participating neighborhoods. Of these, 85% come from low-income families.

One of the program’s most distinctive aspects is the great diversity of its participants in both gender and ethnicity: 76% of the children are African American, 15% Latino, 1% Asian, and 3% multiracial. This cultural richness and inclusivity are at the heart of the project, which continues to build a better future for thousands of young people and shape a new generation of athletes and citizens.