love.fútbol continues engaging Philadelphia’s community with two new sports spaces

Philadelphia, PA - September 11th, 2023 - Four years after love.fútbol opened its first two sports spaces in Philadelphia in 2019, the international nonprofit has doubled its presence in the city this summer. In addition to the existing mini-pitches located at Dr. Tanner G. Duckery School and James Finnegan Park, love.fútbol inaugurated two more fields in the city to provide access and safe places for youth to play: The Max Myers Recreation Center welcomed its new field in mid-August, and Samuel Park had its opening this past Sunday, September 10th, 2023.

“Four years ago, a young man walked by our community build day at the Dr. Tanner G. Duckrey school and asked if we needed help. The next thing we knew, he had joined in, working hand-in-hand with other local volunteers. This story embodies the spirit of our projects, where community members step up and take action to build a better future for their kids,” said love.fútbol’s CEO and Co-Founder, Drew Chafetz. “Every project we do in Philadelphia reinforces our core belief in the power of play and sport to bring people together.”

So far, over 2,200 community members have been positively impacted by the spaces at Tanner Duckery and James Finnegan Park, while 1,500 more will be impacted by the two new spaces.

To build these sports spaces, love.fútbol implemented its community engagement methodology, which builds local ownership over the project and a collective mission to promote well-being through sports. This methodology has been recognized by global institutions, including FIFA, the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace, Ashoka, and the Inter-American Development Bank. For the projects in Philadelphia, local volunteers, including parents, grandparents, and other youth advocates, came together to plan, organize, and help build the sports space.

“I am proud to be a coach for FC Max Myers, a free soccer program for the community. Many of the kids are refugees or immigrants, and I know I’m a role model to the younger kids,” said Stacie Brilliant, one of the coaches at the Max Myers Recreation Center.

“Our goal is to bring life back to Samuel Recreation Center by creating a safe and fun filled environment for everyone, which is what this amazing space allows us to do. We are able to provide an encouraging atmosphere by offering opportunities that enable our children to learn, develop, and enjoy sports as well as unite the community,” shared Karen Stiles, community leader and Friends of Samuel Rec member.

Of the community members surveyed about the impact of love.fútbol's work, 90 percent reported an increase in their sense of belonging, 92 percent reported an increase in physical and mental health, and 100 percent reported an increase in access for girls to play.

The strong collaboration and relationship between love.fútbol and the project sponsors such as the Pincus Family Foundation (PFF)—which partnership made possible the organization’s expansion to Philadelphia—and the Philadelphia Union—that co-sponsored the Samuel Park project, were key in providing the city with these new sports spaces. PFF is a funding partner of the Return to Play Fund, an initiative co-founded by Beyond Sport and ESPN with the aim of using sports to promote youth mental and physical well-being, address racial inequities, and increase access to safe facilities for recreation.

Since 2022, love.fútbol completed other projects in Flint, MI, Chicago, IL, and Miami, FL, with additional spaces slated for Baltimore, MD, Memphis, TN, and Charlotte, NC, over the coming months.

About love.fútbol: love.fútbol is a global non-profit dedicated to closing the play equity gap and ensuring every child has a safe space to play sport. The organization employs an award-winning methodology to engage, mobilize, and partner with communities to create, reclaim, and redefine their own sports spaces as sustainable platforms for social change. Since 2006, love.fútbol has partnered with the biggest names in the sports, business, and the nonprofit sectors to complete over 60 sports space projects across five continents. Today, nearly 100,000 youth and adults have been engaged by the organization to be active, connect, grow, and learn. 

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. #MoreThanAPlaceToPlay

For media inquiries, please contact:

Paco Hinojosa 

paco@lovefutbol.org