#girls

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

Jun 6, 2018

Game Day with Tackle Africa

It’s 7:30am on a Saturday morning in the middle of May. The sun may have just risen above Lake Victoria to the East, but there are already nearly 75 young refugees from our u12, u16 and u23 boys teams, and our u14 and u16 girls teams, pacing around the SWB Youth Center, eagerly awaiting the day’s Tackle Africa Tournament! Tackle Africa, one of our regional partners, uses football to teach youth and adults critical information about HIV, Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (

Soccer without Borders

Jun 6, 2018

Soccer Without Borders Awarded 2018 Sports 4 Life Grant by Women’s Sports Foundation and espnW

Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation joins the effort to empower young girls of color through sports East Boston, MA – Today, the Women’s Sports Foundation and espnW, in collaboration with the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, announced Soccer Without Borders Boston as a 2018 recipient of the Sports 4 Life initiative, a national effort to increase the participation and retention of African-American and Hispanic girls in youth sports programs. Sports 4 Life, cofounded by the Women’s

Soccer without Borders

May 5, 2018

Los futbolistas y miembros de Common Goal Ana Cate y Giorgio Chiellini se unen a Futbol Sin Frontera

Futbol sin Fronteras se siente honrado de darle la bienvenida a Ana Cate y Giorgio Chiellini a nuestro equipo en Nicaragua. Ana Cate es jugadora del equipo nacional femenil de Nicaragua y del equipo Stjarnan que participa en la Premier League Islandesa y en la UEFA Champions League. Giorgio Chiellini es defensa de la Juventus FC en Italia y jugador del equipo nacional masculino de Italia. Ambos jugadores son miembos de Common Goal, un movimiento global comenzado por Juan Mata

Soccer without Borders

Apr 27, 2018

Common Goal Players Ana Cate and Giorgio Chiellini Join Soccer Without Borders

Soccer Without Borders is honored to welcome Ana Cate and Giorgio Chiellini to our team in Nicaragua. Ana Cate is a member of the Nicaraguan Women's National Team and Stjarnan of the Icelandic Premier League and UEFA Champions League. Giorgio Chiellini is a defender with Juventus FC in Italy and a member of the Italian Men's National Team. Both players are members of Common Goal, a worldwide movement started by Juan Mata of Manchester United and streetfootballworld's Jurgen G

Soccer without Borders

Apr 19, 2018

Volunteer Spotlight: Ana Tantum

Ana Tantum has been a part of the Soccer Without Borders family since 2011. As she prepares to step onto the field this spring with the U10 Coed Program in East Boston, we were able to catch up with Coach Ana about her experiences working with several of SWB’s programs through the years. Here, Ana shares how she first got involved with SWB and what she sees as a common thread across SWB programs from her experiences in Granada, Nicaragua, Boston MA, and Kampala, Uganda. Coach

Penn State Women's Soccer: For the Love of the Game

Soccer without Borders

Mar 29, 2018

Penn State Women's Soccer: For the Love of the Game

all photos, credit: Kara Lowery Soccer Without Borders Nicaragua program hosted Penn State Women's Soccer earlier this month for a week-long international immersion experience. The trip had three main components: working with the girls and coaches of SWB Nicaragua, supporting the Nicaraguan women's national teams through practices, games, and coaching demonstrations, and cultural immersion. Below is a reflection from Penn State Women's Soccer on their time with Soccer Without

Girls Soccer & Leadership Camps Expand Beyond Granada

Soccer without Borders

Mar 1, 2018

Girls Soccer & Leadership Camps Expand Beyond Granada

"I had so many moments that made me realize how lucky I was to have grown up playing sports, but more importantly how essential it is to keep sharing sports to all those who feel unreachable. The power sport had to bring 6 different communities together, and empower young girls to be strong and confident leaders was truly inspiring.” — Dani Weatherholt, Women's Sports Corps Fellow with Soccer Without Borders & professional player for Orlando Pride In partnership with Women Wi

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 28, 2017

Celebrating Graduates at SWB Nicaragua

Natalia lives across the street from our Soccer Without Borders youth center in Granada. She is about to finish her 8th year with the program and, more importantly, this week is her high school graduation. Natalia and her teammates are re-writing the story for girls in Nicaragua: they are playing soccer, they are finishing high school, and they are going to college. Just 48% of students in Nicaragua even make it to secondary school. Graduating, especially as a girl with many

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

Afghanistan Women's National Team Comes to the Bay Area

Soccer without Borders

Sep 2, 2016

Afghanistan Women's National Team Comes to the Bay Area

Afghanistan's national women's soccer team began training in the Bay Area this week, playing a friendly against a Palo Alto club team Wednesday as it prepares for a major tournament in India. The existence of the team alone is quite an achievement. It was once forbidden for women to play sports in Afghanistan. When the soccer team formed in 2007, the Taliban tried to shut it down. Players received death threats. Read the full story at NBC Bay Area>> #Afghanistan #girls

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

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

Soccer without Borders

Feb 23, 2016

Spring is in the Air at SWB Baltimore

This spring season at Soccer Without Borders Baltimore is a huge one. Not only are we continuing our coed middle school and boys' high school teams, but we have a few additions to our programming that we are thrilled to begin implementing. At our main site, Vanguard Collegiate Middle School, we have increased our number of participants from last year and hope to continue growing. We are also excited to invite all of our dedicated volunteers back into the mix and continue to f

SWB Celebrates the International Day of the Girl

Soccer without Borders

Nov 4, 2015

SWB Celebrates the International Day of the Girl

Last month, SWB programs in different cities throughout the world celebrated the International Day of the Girl Child, a day established by the United Nations in 2011 “to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.” In Greeley, CO, SWB facilitated a number of activities to celebrate the day. The girls enjoyed a team movie night, went hiking, and ultimately played in a game on October 11. It was a perfect way to spend the day, as the girls wor

Soccer without Borders

Oct 27, 2015

Expanding our Girls Empowerment Program

For the past eight years, Soccer Without Borders Uganda has become increasingly engaged in the conversation around improving access to education for refugee youth. Over that time, SWB has been serving the growing refugee community in Kampala, Uganda by initially offering soccer (football) programming and life skills classes, and expanding to offer English classes to refugee youth who are excluded from opportunities for formal education. A primary focus for SWB is on engaging

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

Women's World Cup: Impact in East Boston

Soccer without Borders

Jun 30, 2015

Women's World Cup: Impact in East Boston

The following article was featured in the June 27th issue of the Boston City Paper. Action at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada is intensifying as the tournament progresses toward the final on Sunday, July 5th. So far, the game results have varied from exciting upsets to nail-biting ties to major blowouts. With 7 out of 24 teams making their first-ever appearance in the tournament, the range in results is not completely surprising. Despite these varying outcomes, there i

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

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

Stories from the Field

Stories from
the Field