Sport Court Teams Up With Global Youth Partnership, Street Soccer USA, When High School Students in Danville, California, raise funds to build soccer fields for Kids in Uganda
Gulu District, Northern Uganda February 27, 2009 -- The Global Youth Partnership for Africa (GYPA), a non-profit organization in the United States, with an office in Uganda, and Sport Court®, the industry leader in modular athletic flooring for over 35 years, have teamed up to bring the first Street Soccer Pitch to the Gulu District, a region that experienced more than 22 years of war, in Northern Uganda.
This venture was made possible by the efforts of FUNDaFIELD, a non-profit organization started by high-school students in Danville, California, that raised the money to build the two soccer fields in Uganda with GYPA.
GYPA is the organizer and manager of Uganda's Homeless World Cup team, which since 2006 has brought young homeless and displaced women and men to the international tournament in Cape Town, Copenhagen and Melbourne.
"Sports can bring social change and help create and enhance life in communities across Uganda. GYPA is thrilled to work with such a stellar group of public and private sector partners," said Jeremy M. Goldberg, GYPA Founder.
Anna Phillips, GYPA Program Coordinator in Uganda said, "The Street Soccer Pitch in Uganda will enable more training and new opportunity for GYPA's all-women's team who will represent Uganda at this year's Female Homeless World Cup in Milan, Italy." She continued, "It is our hope that the larger community, and world will realize the power of sports based solutions to social change."
The pitch will be shipped to Uganda the first week of March, and installation is set to be completed by May 2009. Following installation, try-outs and selection for Uganda's Women's Homeless World Cup team will take place, followed-by an official ceremonial tournament featuring members of FUNDaFIELD and Uganda's Homeless World Cup team Alumni.
Lawrence Cann, Founder and CEO of Street Soccer USA, said "We are pleased to be a sponsor for Uganda's street soccer programs that support the displaced and homeless of Northern Uganda. We recognize that our well being is interdependent, and congratulate our brothers and sisters in Uganda and in GYPA for all they have accomplished.
In addition, Africa Sports Outreach International is also donating jerseys and uniforms for the upcoming soccer tournaments that are slated to take place this summer in Uganda, following the construction of the soccer pitch.
Ron Cerny, President and CEO of Connor Sport Court International, said the company is proud of its continuing involvement in sports around the world.
"We have watched individuals and communities grow as the result of the installation of Sport Court surfaces. Just this past year we have installed new Sport Court facilities all over the world--on building roofs in New Delhi, in small towns in Haiti, in Malaysia, on South American beaches . . .we even installed 36 Sport Court surfaces in a single town in Romania. This is in addition to our leading position in sports surfaces here in the U. S. It is gratifying to watch the outpouring of community response wherever Sport Court is installed, whether it's for soccer, futsal, basketball or other sports," Cerny said. "We are happy to be a part of bringing sporting opportunities to people who would otherwise not have access to a safe, high performing playing surface."
The Global Youth Partnership for Africa was established in 2003, and founded by Jeremy M. Goldberg and Joseph Kaliisa-Bagambaki. GYPA aims to cultivate the skill-sets of youth who are changemakers in their community so they can improve health and wellness, economic opportunity and long-term, positive change in their country. GYPA programs encourage sport for social change, cultural exchange, peer-to-peer education, women's empowerment, entrepreneurialism and leadership. For more information visit: http://www.gypafrica.org/
About Connor Sport Court International
More athletic events are played on Connor Sport Court surfaces than on any other sports flooring in the world. Connor sports floors have established themselves as the standard for professional and collegiate sports since the company was founded in 1872. Sport Court® is a registered trade mark of Connor Sport Court International. Since 1974, it has identified the original and authentic modular sport surface, continuously improved and patented to provide the highest levels of quality and performance.
For more information visit: http://www.sportcourt.com/
Phone Jeff Morton, 801-712-6411
FUNDaFIELD is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations, run by kids, dedicated to enriching the lives of less fortunate youth in Africa through sports. Our goal is to provide soccer fields and equipment to African schools. For more information visit: http://www.fundafield.org/
Street Soccer USA
Street Soccer USA (SSUSA) utilizes soccer as a toolfor intervention, education, and empowerment among the homeless in the United States. Our purpose is to harness the power of sport to help the homeless "move off the sidelines of life" and into self-sufficient living. It is also our mission to engage the broader public in the issue of homelessness in new ways, humanizing the issue and changing negative attitudes, stigmas, and stereotypes about who the homeless are and what they need.
For more information: www.communityworks945.org/StreetSoccerUSA
About Africa Sports Outreach International, Founded by Paul Goodrich a former All-American soccer player and coach, is a non-profit organization that helps kids create a more positive image of themselves in their communities. ASO does this by facilitating sports equipment donations. For more information: www.asointernational.org
Now that you have returned and as you start this process a second time for getting your teams and team captains selected I would love to know:
ReplyDeleteDo you have many returning players, captains?
As the process starts, do the returning ones remember the processes used in selecting the captains and determining the qualities they want in a captain?
Can you talk to some of the captains from last year and find out how the tournament itself, their selection and role of captain effected them, and if they were able to use those tools learned for leadership, time management, conflict resolution, and problem solving in their daily life, and if so, how and to what outcome.
Then, what are they anticipating and hoping for with this year's tournament - other than winning of course!