The First 10 of 50 Mini Soccer Fields Have Been Opened in NYC Funded and Supported by an Incredible Team of Organizers, Donors, and Brands
adidas, First Lady Chirlane McCray and Mayor’s Fund to Advance NYC, New York City FC, U.S. Soccer Foundation and Etihad Airways kick-off Opening of First 10 Soccer Fields as part of New York City Soccer Initiative
State Senator Jose M. Serrano said, “Physical activity and sports are some of the best ways for youngsters to stay healthy while fighting the epidemic of obesity in our community. I applaud Mayor de Blasio’s commitment to ensuring the youth in our community have the space and equipment they need to be active, healthy and happy.”
Soccer News: Big day in New York City. It is always great to see elected officials and soccer organizations come together to help a community and grow the beautiful game.
Here is a great example of teamwork and leadership in action.
New York City Soccer Initiative kicks off in NYC – The initiative is led by the Mayor’s Fund to Advance NYC, the U.S. Soccer Foundation, New York City Football Club, adidas and Etihad Airways. The New York City Soccer Initiative supports Mayor de Blasio’s Building Healthy Communities initiative and the shared goal of ensuring that New Yorkers of all ages can live, work, learn and play in healthy, safe neighborhoods.
$3 million — 50 “mini-soccer pitches” to reach 10,000 young people
NYC FC and adidas released this Press Release on New York City Soccer Initiative
First Lady Chirlane McCray, Senior Advisor to the Mayor and Director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships Gabrielle Fialkoff, and Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, were joined today by New York City Football Club (NYCFC) President Jon Patricof, NYCFC Head Coach Patrick Vieira, NYCFC Sporting Director Claudio Reyna and NYCFC players David Villa, Jack Harrison and Sean Johnson, community leaders, agency partners and philanthropic sponsors for a ribbon cutting at P.S. 083 Luis Munoz Rivera / P.S. 182 The Bilingual Bicultural School in Harlem to inaugurate the first ten new mini-soccer pitches across the City.
The event kicks off a day of soccer at new pitches in all five boroughs. These fields are the first to open as part of the New York City Soccer Initiative, launched by Mayor de Blasio last year, a public-private partnership to build and maintain 50 mini-soccer pitches in underserved neighborhoods across the five boroughs over the next five years and expand after-school programming for thousands of New York City youth.
“Participating in sports while I was growing up contributed a great deal to the person I am today. I want every child in New York City to have that same opportunity. The NYC Soccer Initiative provides our most vulnerable youth communities with valuable programming and life-long mentors to enrich their lives,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray, Chair of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance NYC.
“Public private partnerships can lead the way to change, and in this case, the creation of vibrant playing fields and the Soccer For Success program will enhance our communities in all five boroughs, said Gabrielle Fialkoff, Senior Advisor to the Mayor and Director of the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Partnerships.
“Adding amenities like these newly opened soccer pitches broadens opportunities for neighborhood children to become involved and active in this globally loved sport,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP.
Pioneering a national movement to increase soccer opportunities in dense urban settings, private partners have pledged to invest a total of $3 million in the new soccer pitches and provide free programming for New York City school children focused on healthy, active living.
Youth programming will reach 10,000 young people over 5-years with after-school soccer and mentoring programs that promote safe, active and connected communities.
The New York City Soccer Initiative is an inter-agency partnership between the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Partnerships, The Mayor’s Fund, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Department of Education, and the Department of Youth and Community Development.
The first 10 sites are as follows:
- Hillside Park/Irwin Altman Middle School 172, Queens, Parks
- Frederick Johnson Playground, Manhattan, Parks
- P.S. 083 Luis Munoz Rivera, Manhattan, DOE
- Eagle Academy For Young Men Of Staten Island/I.S.49 Berta A. Dreyfus, Staten Island, DOE
- P.S. 093 Albert G. Oliver, Bronx, DOE
- P.S. 019 Marino Jeantet, Queens, DOE
- P.S. 184 Shuang Wen, Manhattan, DOE
- Woods Playground/P.S.335 Granville T. Woods, Brooklyn, Parks
- Triboro Bridge Playground, Queens, Parks
- P.S. 66, Brooklyn, DOE
“We at adidas believe that through sports, we have the power to change people’s lives,” states Niels Rossow, General Manager of New York City and Los Angeles for adidas.
“Following last year’s announcement to create and maintain 50 soccer fields in underserved communities across the five boroughs, we are eager and excited to commemorate the opening of the first 10 pitches,” said Rossow. “The social, emotional and physical benefits that these fields will offer young people will live on for years to come, reaching far beyond the neighborhoods they serve.”
“These 10 soccer sites – the first of 50 that will launch over the next four years – and the programming that will come with them will help us create more connected, active, and healthy communities that had been historically under-invested,” said Darren Bloch, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance NYC.
“Crutches 4 Kids is excited to join the Mayor’s Office at the launch of such an impactful initiative that is essential to the progression of our youth and communities throughout NYC. We distributed Crutches to a soccer team of amputees in Haiti and we saw firsthand the importance of play and teamwork through the universal sport of soccer,” said Ramón Peña, Executive Director of Crutches 4 Kids, Inc.
