#Nicaragua

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

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

Soccer without Borders

Jun 19, 2017

Who Are The Three Soccer Sisters?

Meet Bridget, Charlotte, and Lucy: three SWB Ambassadors in fifth, fourth, and second grade who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to raise funds and spread the word about Soccer Without Borders. With help from their Dad, these girls have managed to organize three different campaigns and fundraise $2,500 over the past four months to directly support girls at SWB Nicaragua and Uganda. As a part of our Positive Tracks Ambassador Program, these efforts qualify for our m

SWB Education Program in Nicaragua Reaches New Milestone

Soccer without Borders

Apr 26, 2017

SWB Education Program in Nicaragua Reaches New Milestone

Now in its fourth year, our Nicaragua Education Program continues to progress and grow. The FSF (Fútbol Sin Fronteras, or Soccer Without Borders in Spanish) Education program encourages girls to invest in their education by providing an all-around support system that offers daily study hours, computer access, and scholarships for school fees and/or school supplies and uniforms. According to UNICEF, when looking at the educational statistics across Nicaragua: The primary schoo

Soccer without Borders

Feb 23, 2017

T.E.A.M. Camp Participants Q&A

In January 2017, Soccer Without Borders hosted the 10th Annual T.E.A.M. Camp in Granada, Nicaragua. Seventeen volunteers from across the United States, representing a range of college and professional soccer programs, traveled to Nicaragua to coach at our week-long soccer camp to kick off the new year, and play two matches against the Nicaraguan Women’s National Team. The acronym T.E.A.M. is "Spanglish" standing for "trabajando en equipo aprendemos mas" or "working as a team

Soccer without Borders

Aug 16, 2016

SWB Players Compete in CONCACAF Tourney

This August, girls from 23 countries traveled to the ESPN Disney Wide World of Sports for the CONCACAF Girls Under-15 championships, an event held just one other time previously (2014) with member countries. This year marked the greatest participation to date, up from 16 participating countries in 2014. If you had happened upon the fields that day, you might think it was like any other girls' soccer tournament. Team cheers rippled across the impeccably-manicured grass, and pa

Welcoming Back Former Team Leader Jenn Bell

Soccer without Borders

Aug 1, 2016

Welcoming Back Former Team Leader Jenn Bell

We are thrilled to announce the return of former Team Leader Jenn Bell to the Soccer Without Borders' team. Jenn joins the SWB National Office in Cambridge, MA as the Program Development Manager, overseeing the International Team Leader program and camps, coordinating SWB training programs throughout the year, and supporting staff development. More than three-quarters of full-time Soccer Without Borders' staff members first served in significant volunteer roles. As a Team Lea

Soccer without Borders

May 23, 2016

SWB Celebrates Women's Football Day

Across the CONCACAF (North America) region, national football federations celebrated the second annual Women's Football Day on Saturday, May 21. “CONCACAF has created the Women’s Football Day as a unique initiative to encourage greater participation from women of all ages in the game, while showing how sport can have a positive impact on education, health, and development,” said CONCACAF Acting General Secretary Ted Howard. “We are convinced that there is an enormous growth p

Granada Education Program Update: New School Year is Underway

Soccer without Borders

Mar 21, 2016

Granada Education Program Update: New School Year is Underway

Two years ago, we released a report announcing the Soccer Without Borders Granada Education program, determined to support our participants to break norms and graduate from secondary school. Research shows that expected lifetime earnings for a girl in the developing world increase by about 10-15% for every additional year of secondary school. Still, for girls in Granada, there are significant barriers to secondary school enrollment, let alone completion. As a refresher, some

Motivations and Outcomes of Long-Term International Sport-for-Development Volunteering

Soccer without Borders

Feb 22, 2016

Motivations and Outcomes of Long-Term International Sport-for-Development Volunteering

Soccer Without Borders was recently featured in a research study surrounding the impact and sustainability of volunteer tourism. The authors of the study, Natalie Smith, Adam Cohen, and Andrew Pickett, spent five weeks with SWB in Granada, Nicaragua observing organizations and the structure of our international Team Leader program, interviewing past Team Leaders from Nicaragua and Uganda as well. According to the paper, volunteer tourism, or "engaging in volunteer work while

Soccer without Borders

Sep 24, 2015

2015 Copa de la Paz Reflection

I’ve been finding it extremely difficult to put the magic of the Copa de la Paz– the only all girls youth soccer tournament in Nicaragua– into words. It’s the only all girls youth soccer event. Let that sink in. Hosted by Fútbol Sin Fronteras (SWB), the Peace Cup is held every year in commemoration of the United Nation’s International Day of Peace, a day observed around the world with the objective of strengthening our devotion to the ideals of peace. The inaugural Copa de la

Meet Joselyn Meneses, FSF's Newest Coach

Soccer without Borders

Sep 17, 2015

Meet Joselyn Meneses, FSF's Newest Coach

Joselyn Meneses will soon reach her two month mark since joining Fútbol Sin Fronteras Granada (FSF, Spanish for Soccer Without Borders) as a coach. The 23-year-old is on the verge of culminating her studies and receiving a Law degree from the Universidad Popular de Nicaragua, and has already provided a wonderfully fresh perspective on programming from her role at the helm of the newly initiated La Villa program. La Villa is the northern region of the city of Granada, an area

Soccer without Borders

Aug 4, 2015

Photo Contest Finalists

We are ecstatic to share that two photos from our project page were chosen as finalists for the Global Giving Photo Contest! Thank you to all who voted for these amazing photos , and HUGE thanks to Kristin Gladney Photography for donating her time to the program to take these great shots! #Granada #Nicaragua

Soccer without Borders

Jul 20, 2015

Women's Soccer in the Spotlight

The last six weeks have hurdled women's soccer into the spotlight in a big way. Messages of support and enthusiasm have been juxtaposed with the sinking feelings of disappointment in media coverage and an inability to convert widespread interest into revenue streams that will close the wage and opportunity gaps. For Soccer Without Borders, this spotlight has created a platform to share our stories and highlight the obstacles that stand in the way of girls' inclusion in spor

Soccer without Borders

Jun 28, 2015

Day One.

It's 9:12 AM on Saturday, 27 June. Day one. I'm thinking it's probably inadvisable to start a blog post within the first couple days of a yearlong move to a new country, but I'm doing it anyway (cause why not...?). Osmara, my fellow team leader, and I arrived at Tres Pisos sometime after 1AM last night. I forget exactly what time it was, but it was late enough for both of us to be feeling an all-encompassing exhaustion today, that's for sure. The 45 minute drive from Managua

Soccer without Borders

Jun 26, 2015

Girl Power in Play- A Call to Action

Nelson Mandela said it best: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand.” The non-traditional classroom of the sports field is not only powerfully unifying, but also ripe with tangible learning opportunities. Some sport-based programs focus on addressing barriers to participation, using the sport itself as the classroom to teach life-skills, promote physical fitnes

Soccer without Borders

Jun 22, 2015

Women's Soccer in the Spotlight

Overcoming Obstacles: Year 2 of Education Program

Soccer without Borders

Apr 30, 2015

Overcoming Obstacles: Year 2 of Education Program

Two generations of Nicaraguan women took their seats in the Fútbol Sin Fronteras (FSF- Soccer Without Borders) activity center Tres Pisos. Mothers and daughters sat facing new pink and light-blue backpacks filled with materials necessary for a successful year of studying: school uniforms, shoes, notebooks, rulers, and pencils. Greeted by new co-directors Cesar and Veronica, FSF had chosen their 28 daughters as recipients of these backpacks as well as free tuition for a year o

Soccer without Borders

Apr 26, 2015

Seeing the Helicopter in the Room

Originally published on the Huffington Post Impact Blog, April 17, 2015. Follow SWB on the Huffington Post! During one of my early trips with Soccer Without Borders (SWB), we scheduled a coaching clinic on the island of Ometepe, otherwise known as a "volcano island." As luck would have it, that same week the volcano began to show signs of erupting. A native New-Englander, my only experience with volcanoes had been my summer as a player in Iceland, where I lived in a town that

Playing for Change with One World Play Project

Soccer without Borders

Feb 9, 2015

Playing for Change with One World Play Project

SWB Executive Director Mary McVeigh with FENIFUT President Jose Jacinto Reyes Gatica An indestructible soccer ball that requires no pump? Eyebrows immediately raised in disbelief. This was the reaction at the Nicaraguan Futbol Federation (FENIFUT) when SWB Codirectors Cesar and Veronica mentioned that they came bearing a donation of One World Futbols for the Federation. Many countries, schools, federations, clubs, and communities find themselves facing a similar challenge: fi

Stories from the Field

Stories from
the Field