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LA Galaxy Foundation to Co-Host First Street Soccer USA Cup - Los Angeles

July 12, 2018 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
LA Galaxy News Release


LOS ANGELES - The LA Galaxy have partnered Street Soccer USA to host the first Street Soccer USA Cup - Los Angeles on Saturday, Aug. 18 at Microsoft Square at L.A. LIVE, showcasing LA's vibrant street soccer culture on two custom-built street soccer stadiums. The event is the annual centerpiece of non-profit Street Soccer USA's LA programming, with all event proceeds supporting Street Soccer USA and LA Galaxy Foundation's efforts to support low-income and homeless youth in Los Angeles through soccer.

The event will include teams from SSUSA's programs at the Children's Institute, Operation Progress in Watts and The Union Rescue Mission in Skid Row playing in a youth showcase, followed by a celebrity and elect officials match at mid-day. The tournament then moves on to crown the street soccer champion of Los Angeles with a day-long competitive tournament of 4v4 street soccer. The event is free and open to the public. The LA Galaxy Foundation, the official Street Soccer USA Cup - Los Angeles presenting sponsor, will field a team of Galaxy Legends to compete in the tournament.

Street Soccer USA is a national non-profit organization which harnesses the power of the world's game to create a more level for playing field for all. In Los Angeles, the program enrolled over 230 this spring its free community club programs in Watts and Skid Row, but the initiative is just getting started with programs rolling out this fall with LAUSD's Homeless Education Program and other partners. The goal is to help people and communities thrive off the field and address the specific needs of some of the 17,500 homeless youth in Los Angeles.

The Street Soccer USA Cup - Los Angeles is the third event in the Cup Series that includes parallel events in Union Square San Francisco on July 28th, and Times Square New York on July 14th, both are cities where city government support and the private sector have come together to grow the sport of soccer as a tool for youth development and social integration through Street Soccer USA.

Thanks to the Los Angeles City Council, the LA84 Foundation and brands like UNIQLO, ESPN's 2018 Sport Humanitarian Award finalist, which has outfitted all street soccer players in new look gear, Street Soccer USA has brought its award-winning program to homeless and at-risk youth across the city this year.

"The vision is a level playing for all. There is so much energy around the growth of soccer in the United States right now and the opportunity to harness that energy and use it as a transformational tool on a large scale, I think that is what brings us all together," said Tim Howard, the standout goalkeeper of the United States in the past few FIFA World Cups, and new Street Soccer USA National Board Member.

Street Soccer USA Founder and President, Lawrence Cann, added, "Our commitment to our communities is long term. Our Cup Series is part of building and sustaining that long commitment. In today's environment, where immigrant communities feel under threat and with opportunity of the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics in LA, it's more important than ever that we build strong community institutions; it's silly to think that soccer shouldn't be one of the cornerstone of those institutions."

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