This Is American Soccer, US Soccer, MNT, WNT, and MLS - Tackling the subject of Soccer in the US, and worldwide.

So I have been wanting to do something with Soccer In The Streets for some time, and when I got the letter below from their director Jill Robbins, I finally had a peg. I had something written on the organization a long time ago, but after reading Jill’s letter, on top of my belief that whenever possible, the best way to tell a story is to let those whose story it is tell it, I decided I’d simply share her words with you.

My piece basically explained my belief that Soccer In The Streets is just about the greatest organization in the world of soccer. Then, Jason Longshore, their communications director, sent me some photos of the kids they work with, which made me replace the words ‘just about’ with ‘most definitely’.

Please follow the links to their homepage, and think about how you might be able to contribute to this great cause. Just as soccer is treated in the United States – that one time every four years that you stop and pay attention to something really really really great – more important things such as poverty, racism, and the overwhelming inequities of our societies are too seldom recognized, addressed and given the proper attention.

Jill’s letter is after the jump.

Jill Robbins wrote:

As you may or may not know, Adam, we’re preparing to take a team to Germany. Seriously, Soccer in the Streets is the only American project to be invited to the ’streetfootballworld festival 06′ being held in Berlin. (www.streetfootballworld.org or www.festival06.org)

And we couldn’t be more thrilled. Not just for the opportunity to be in the
midst of the ’soccer vortex of the world’ during that month, but to
represent our program, our city, and our country, and all that it
symbolizes - freedom, diversity, opportunity, compassion, optimism. (Do I
sound like the US tourism department’s PR or what?)

The streetfootballworld is in itself a unique project. It is a network of
projects similar to our own that explore the social dimension of the game to
better people’s lives. There are projects representing diverse locations
such as Nairobi, Kenya; Buenos Aires, Argentina; London, England; Germany,
Norway and even a combined Israeli/Palestinian delegation… Imagine a quote
from a participant from that delegation: “I used to want to kill them, but
now that we play soccer together, I don’t want to kill them anymore.”

That speaks volumes to the power of this game.

In our own delegation we have several African Americans, three Mexicans, a
Colombian and a Jamaican. These kids have been selected based upon their
involvement in our program, their educational background, their economic
background (we wanted to make sure we selected kids that wouldn’t have this
opportunity if they were left to their own resources) and an essay that
expressed why they should be selected. They are all great kids and I know
that they will represent us well, both on and off the pitch.

As I anticipate our departure on June 25, I am excited, nervous, giddy,
introspective - the emotions run the gambit. I see how the American style
has been evolving - going from a predictable, robotic, textbook (think
“English long ball” of yesteryear) to more of a melange of so many
influences - European, Latin, African, and now with some American
sensibilities infused with hip hop and street culture. We hope to represent well in the ‘Copa Andres Escobar’.

-JILL ROBBINS

all photos courtesy of Soccer In The Streets