#Oakland

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.

Rethinking Competition: How SWB In-House Leagues Promote Socio-Emotional Learning and Healthy Play

Soccer without Borders

Apr 24, 2019

Rethinking Competition: How SWB In-House Leagues Promote Socio-Emotional Learning and Healthy Play

What was the world's biggest soccer competition of the past winter? The SWB Champions League! Featuring eight high school-aged SWB Oakland teams—in addition to a team of alumni—we ran our own in-house league this winter, combining quality soccer, healthy competition, and SWB values. With the SWB Champions League, we brought organized league play to our participants, but also included several aspects sometimes absent from youth soccer. Fair Play Points: At the end of each game

Soccer without Borders

Jan 10, 2019

SWB Oakland Participant Spotlight

Photos by Balazs Gardi Be sure to scroll through all the photos and below to learn more about our participants! · Veronica Meet Veronica, from SWB Oakland’s U14 Girls. This is her second year playing with SWB, and as an eighth grader, she’s a senior member of the team. With lots of new players on this year’s team, some games have been challenging—though Veronica can see the positives. “This season we had a soccer game and we lost and it was really great that no one was mad. W

Soccer without Borders

Nov 23, 2018

Coaching Spotlight: Ye-Htet Soe

Coach Tet and Coach Omar. Photo by Kate Hampson Tet is an Oakland Program Coordinator and the Head Coach of the U19 Boys team at Oakland International High School. In his tenure with SWB, Tet has also head-coached the U14, U16, U17 Boys and U14 Girls. His commanding presence, infectious laugh and soccer knowledge – not to mention his unmatched ball control on the pitch-make him a pillar of the Oakland Program. I had the chance to sit down with him and ask him a few question

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

A wonderful side of soccer -- helping kids feel like they belong

Soccer without Borders

Feb 7, 2018

A wonderful side of soccer -- helping kids feel like they belong

SWB Oakland was recently featured in Soccer America with an article written by Lauren Markham. Lauren is a writer based in Berkeley, CA focusing on issues related to youth, migration, and the environment. Her work has appeared in such outlets as The New York Times, VICE, Orion, the New Yorker.com, The Guardian, Guernica, and VQR. For the past 5 years, she has also been the Community School Program Manager at Oakland International High School - a long time partner of SWB! A wo

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 27, 2017

SWB Alumni Spotlight: Yohannes

Oakland, CA - The five Soccer Without Borders activities are soccer, educational support, civic engagement, team building, and cultural exchange. Since graduating from Oakland International High School in 2013, SWB Oakland alumnus Yohannes has managed to excel in all five. Captain of his SWB team at OIHS, he’s continued his educational journey at Holy Names University in Oakland, California, where he is captain of the Men’s Soccer Team and has been selected as an Academic All

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

Featured SWB/Positive Tracks Ambassador: Nick Zak-Lee

Soccer without Borders

Sep 8, 2017

Featured SWB/Positive Tracks Ambassador: Nick Zak-Lee

Soccer Without Borders Positive Tracks Ambassador, Nick Zak-Lee, is a two-time Sweat for Change race runner. Nick's fundraising efforts help support the Soccer Without Borders Oakland program. Below Nick reflects on his experiences as a SWB Ambassador: I first became aware of Soccer Without Borders after playing against their teams at both the club and varsity level in Oakland. However, it was not until a few years later that I had my first experience working alongside everyo

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

Soccer without Borders

Apr 12, 2017

1, 2, 3, TOGETHER!

At Soccer Without Borders, we end every practice by putting our hands in and chanting 1, 2, 3, TOGETHER! This may sound like a routine practice ritual that teams do without thinking about it. But here, it’s different. The players shout it at the top of their lungs and listen as the sound echoes off the school walls. The players at SWB have come from all over the world and are now finding their path in a new country. They share similar challenges and are truly facing these

Soccer without Borders

Mar 16, 2017

The Place for Sports in Development

"Before entering the MDP program, I spent four years working for a sport for development organization, Soccer Without Borders (SWB). My time there allowed me to learn about non-profit management, communications, grant writing, program coordination, coaching for inclusion, and the distinct challenges that the communities in which I worked faced. My time in the MDP has allowed me to zoom out and more deeply consider the role that sport can play in development. SWB uses the spor

Soccer without Borders

Jan 31, 2017

Soccer Without Borders: a Global Family Full of the Deepest Love

For a year and a half, I spent my Friday afternoons with Soccer Without Borders Oakland’s coaches and high school girls. When I started volunteering with SWB in January 2015, I already had a great deal of respect and admiration for what SWB was doing. Every week, those feelings grew deeper — and along the way, love joined the party. SWB is a one-of-a-kind organization run with massive amounts of smarts and heart. It doesn’t take long to realize that. There’s a great deal of m

Soccer without Borders

Jan 10, 2017

Newcomers to USA get a boost from Soccer Without Borders: Meet founder Ben Gucciardi

"Time and time again, we see our graduates go on to not only be successful for themselves, but to think of giving back to the community. Since so many of them have been through great challenges, when they begin to have some success, they always want to help others navigate their own struggles." Read here this Q&A in Soccer America with our Founder Ben Gucciardi. #News #Oakland #soccer #playforchange

Celebrating 10 Years of Playing for Change

Soccer without Borders

Oct 24, 2016

Celebrating 10 Years of Playing for Change

For the past 10 years, Soccer Without Borders has been fortunate to serve newcomer refugee, immigrant, and asylee youth across the United States, building a more inclusive and peaceful world through the sport of soccer. On October 27, Soccer Without Borders Oakland will be hosting a memorable 10 year anniversary celebration at the Impact Hub in Oakland, CA. The event will feature a new short film about our work with newcomer youth, directed by Silas Hagerty, produced by Ryan

Stories from the Field

Stories from
the Field