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New Soccer Mini-Pitches to be Unveiled on Tuesday

September 28, 2023 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release

Two new soccer mini-pitches will be unveiled in Central Park on Tuesday afternoon in an effort to improve the health and well-being of the region's youth through soccer.

Led by theU.S. Soccer Foundation, local and national partners teamed up to fund and install the mini-pitches which feature hard-court surfaces uniquely suited for both organized and pick-up play.

Sporting Kansas City andThe Victory Project, the club's philanthropic foundation, are among a group of stakeholders to support the mini-pitches locally along with the Kansas City Currentand Kansas City, Missouri Parks and Recreation. In addition,adidas, Black Players for Change, Black Women's Player Collective and Musco Lightingalso partnered to make the project possible.

Six Sporting Kansas City players will be in attendance on Tuesday for the unveil as forward Stephen Afrifa, forward Willy Agada, midfielder Cam Duke, goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh, defender Kayden Pierre and forward Khiry Shelton join the Central Middle School boys and girls soccer teams to celebrate the official opening of the mini-pitches.

The U.S. Soccer Foundation has installedmore than 650 mini-pitches nationwideon its path to opening 1,000 by 2026, highlighted by six mini-pitch locations in the Kansas City area: Central Park (2023), Banneker Elementary (2023), Ashland Square Park (2022), Budd Park (2021), Longfellow Elementary (2016) and JA Rogers Elementary (2015).

Sporting Club also continues to invest in soccer-specific spaces across the region since purchasing Sporting KC in 2006.Beginning with the opening of Swope Soccer Village in 2007, the commitment to providing amenities for athletes of all ages and abilities has expanded to include Children's Mercy Park, Compass Minerals National Performance Center, Compass Minerals Sporting Fields, Central Bank Sporting Complex and more than 20 local futsal courts.

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