#Baltimore

Stories from
the Field

With year-round activities happening across our hubs in Nicaragua, Uganda, and the United States, there is no shortage of inspiring stories to share. Stay up to date with all of the latest news around Soccer Without Borders through our blog, newsletters, and social media.

Soccer without Borders

Aug 21, 2019

Celebrating 10 Years at SWB Maryland

Baltimore, MD- "Families are resettled in Baltimore every day, but what does it really mean to be settled? Their basic needs are met – with housing, clothing and SNAP benefits, and children are enrolled in school. Parents hope to get a job within the first few months so that they can pay the rent on their new apartment. They begin to learn new English words and phrases. Is this being settled? Or is there more to it?" SWB Maryland Director Emily Sherman posed these questions t

Soccer without Borders

Feb 19, 2019

SWB Featured by GlobalSport Matters

In partnership with GlobalSport Matters at Arizona State University, Soccer Without Borders is excited to share a new mini-documentary highlighting our approach to supporting refugee youth. The film spotlights Soccer Without Borders Maryland's middle school programming in Baltimore City, and the unique role that soccer can play in building welcoming and inclusive communities. Read the release below and view the film here or on YouTube. Soccer is the headline, but the goal is

SWB Celebrates International Peace Day 2018

Soccer without Borders

Oct 4, 2018

SWB Celebrates International Peace Day 2018

Check out how some of our programs celebrated International Peace Day 2018! Baltimore, MD On Friday, September 21st, over 65 students gathered together to celebrate International Day of Peace through soccer stations, art activities, and friendly scrimmages! Thanks to ‘Welcoming America’ and ‘Peace One Day’, everything throughout the day challenged students to think about the small steps we can take to all be peacemakers and agents of change with our friends, families, and wit

Soccer without Borders

Aug 30, 2018

The Language of Soccer

“So, where are you all from?” “I’m from Haiti!" “Puerto Rico!” “Venezuela!” “Costa Rica!” “Panama!” And it doesn’t stop there; El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Morocco and Cape Verde were also represented on August 6th by the almost 40 participants of the FHI 360 Youth Soccer and ESL Sports Visitor program and SWB Boston soccer clinic. These participants would spend the next 5 mornings together developing their soccer skills by participating in drills and scrimmages

Soccer without Borders

Jul 9, 2018

SWB Celebrates World Refugee Day 2018

Baltimore, MD SWB Baltimore celebrated World Refugee Day by inviting all of our high school, middle school, and elementary school participants to our World Cup Soccer Camp! The camp kicked off on June 20th (World Refugee Day) and lasted 3 days. Throughout the camp, many discussions arose about unity and the importance of community. Some teams also talked about remembering the Refugee team in the Olympics and how they wished the World Cup had a refugee team. One SWB team named

Soccer without Borders

Jun 29, 2018

2018 Juggle Challenge Winners Announced

Check out all of the winning videos from the 2018 Juggle Challenge hosted by SWB Colorado! Thank you to everyone who participated and congratulations to the winners! 1. Greatest Team Juggle - Jessy Giordano's team 2. Most Impressive - Usai, SWB Greeley 3. Most Creative - Three Soccer Sisters 4. Most Shared Video on a Single Social Media Platform - Coach Kat and Abel, SWB Baltimore #Greeley #Baltimore #ambassadors #colorado #awards

Soccer without Borders

Jun 6, 2018

Soccer Without Borders Announces New Directors in Maryland and Colorado

MARYLAND Soccer Without Borders is excited to announce the hiring of Emily Sherman as the incoming Director of SWB Baltimore. Emily will oversee year-round programming in Baltimore City and Prince George's County that serves more than 400 refugee and immigrant youth through soccer, education, and community-based activities. Emily has been deeply committed to public service in Baltimore throughout her career, working at Baltimore City Schools and with former City Councilman Ji

Soccer without Borders

May 7, 2018

Volunteer Spotlight: Hailey

Hailey is a 2017-2018 SOURCE Scholar with the SWB Baltimore Program through Johns Hopkins University where she is completing her Master's degree in Public Health. She volunteers at Vanguard Middle School helping out with coaching and tutoring. Where are you from? I’m from a small town in Western Massachusetts called South Hadley. It’s a very rural area and we don’t even have any fast food in my town. My dad has lived there his whole life, so we have a lot of family and friend

SWB Alumnus Speaks at FIFA for Equality and Inclusion Conference

Soccer without Borders

Mar 24, 2018

SWB Alumnus Speaks at FIFA for Equality and Inclusion Conference

On Wednesday, February 28th, SWB Baltimore Coach Kat Sipes and alumnus Warshan Hussin headed to the airport to begin their journey to Zurich, Switzerland to attend the 4th annual FIFA Conference for Equality and Inclusion. After a long overnight flight and lots of reading and re-reading Warshan’s speech, we landed in Zurich and were pleasantly greeted with a FIFA sign and escorted to the FIFA hotel. With just enough time to get settled and take a quick nap, it was already tim

Soccer without Borders

Mar 19, 2018

Volunteer Spotlight: Maggie

Maggie has been volunteering at SWB Baltimore since the Spring of 2016 and assists with all of the middle school teams. Where are you from? I am from Providence, Rhode Island. What is your current job/school and why did you choose it? I am currently a junior at Loyola University Maryland studying Psychology and Sociology. I chose to come to Baltimore for a variety of reasons including its location and the new opportunities that it would provide me with. I had never previously

Soccer without Borders

Dec 21, 2017

How Do We Measure Impact?

The end of the year always marks a time of reflection, celebration, and visioning for the year ahead. One of the defining characteristics of Soccer Without Borders is our commitment to learning and adapting our model to meet new challenges, needs, and contexts. As each of our programs grow to support higher numbers of participants, provide more program offerings, and expand to new locations, so do our Monitoring & Evaluation systems. In 2017, we made significant investments i

Soccer without Borders

Dec 6, 2017

Meet ASIYA: Sport Hijabs for Girls

Cambridge, MA - Last month, girls at Soccer Without Borders programs had the opportunity to sport some new gear on the field thanks to ASIYA®. ASIYA, a modest activewear company, donated sport hijabs to participants across SWB programs and they loved the product! SWB participants enjoyed and reflected upon how the sport hijabs felt while playing: "I like the [sport] hijab because it is helpful and when I wear my normal one in games it covers my eyes and I can't see. I loved

Soccer without Borders

Nov 2, 2017

Soccer Without Borders Wins FIFA Diversity Award 2017

Cambridge, MA - The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has announced today that Soccer Without Borders is honored with 2017 FIFA Diversity Award. The FIFA Diversity Award aims to use the global platform of football to promote anti-discrimination. The award was given to Soccer Without Borders for our work using soccer as tool to bring people together, supporting immigrant and refugee youth to integrate into their new communities in the United States and a

Soccer without Borders

Oct 18, 2017

Senda Athletics and Soccer Without Borders Partner Toward A Common Goal

Cambridge, MA— Senda Athletics, a global leader in producing premium quality Fair Trade Certified soccer balls, has renewed its partnership as the “Official Game Ball” of Soccer Without Borders. Senda was started with a clear goal: disrupt the industry by embracing Fair Trade, bringing back craftsmanship, promoting joyful play, and improving lives along the way. Since its very beginning, Senda has built its B-Corps business model around “1% for the game” providing equipment a

SWB Celebrates International Day of Peace

Soccer without Borders

Oct 3, 2017

SWB Celebrates International Day of Peace

Take a look at how each SWB program celebrated International Peace Day! #Kampala #Granada #Baltimore #Boston #Greeley #Oakland

Soccer without Borders

Sep 18, 2017

SWB Release 2016 Annual Report

With #WelcomingWeek as a backdrop, we are pleased to release our 2016 Annual Report. This report celebrates 10 years of Soccer Without Borders programs, and looks at two of the major focus areas of our work in youth development and soccer for social change: supporting newcomer refugee, asylee, and immigrant youth, and advancing gender equality. In 2016, Soccer Without Borders celebrated the milestone of our first decade. Our community stretches worldwide; our participants alo

Soccer without Borders

Sep 15, 2017

Meet the Newest SWB Board Members

Soccer Without Borders is proud to announce the recent additions to our Board of Directors and National Advisory Board. Francisco Queirό joins the Board of Directors after having served on the National Advisory Board and member of the Finance Committee for one year. Prior to joining the Advisory Board, Francisco was one of SWB Boston's most consistent volunteers, coaching the U-14 boys alongside former Boston Director, Lindsey Whitford for three years while a Ph.D. student at

Friendship Goals: Building Bridges Among Families

Soccer without Borders

May 10, 2017

Friendship Goals: Building Bridges Among Families

The Family Mentor program at SWB Baltimore matches newcomer families to Baltimore residents who can ease the transition, making the family feel welcome and helping to explain paperwork, public transportation, American customs, city systems, and more. For many newcomer youth in our programs, they are the first in their family to learn English; they are often called upon to help their families understand and navigate their new surroundings. The SWB Family Mentor recognizes that

US Soccer Foundation Awards SWB Inaugural Impact Award

Soccer without Borders

May 1, 2017

US Soccer Foundation Awards SWB Inaugural Impact Award

CAMBRIDGE, MA– Soccer Without Borders today announced it has been awarded the 2017 Urban Soccer Symposium Impact Award from the U.S. Soccer Foundation, the national model for sports-based youth development programs in underserved communities. This award is given to Soccer Without Borders for using sport to enact measurable and sustainable positive change within an underserved community for at least five years. “There are so many great organizations doing important and creati

Youth Soccer in Maryland: Barriers to Inclusion & Play for Newcomers

Soccer without Borders

Mar 21, 2017

Youth Soccer in Maryland: Barriers to Inclusion & Play for Newcomers

Our goal is for all Soccer Without Borders participants to be able to take full advantage of the program activities we provide. Our programs are all free of cost and, additionally, we invest significant resources in eliminating the most common barriers to participation: transportation, equipment, nutrition, translation, parent permission, and a lack safe spaces. This Spring, our Baltimore program faced a new, complicated barrier: navigating the FIFA International Clearance Pr

Stories from the Field

Stories from
the Field