.png)
Soccer Without Borders Featured by SB Nation
SB Nation shines a spotlight on the transformative experience of Warshan Hussin, a former SWB Maryland participant and current staff member.
top of page
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
- Sep 16, 2019
Senda and SWB Renew Partnership
When you think of soccer at its most basic, people often say "all you need is a ball." All over the world, soccer balls take many forms, often reflecting the creativity, ingenuity, and unique style of the communities that make them. At SWB, we teamed up with Senda Athletics 4 years ago as our "Official Game Ball." Senda's vision is to "make the highest quality, ethically-made gear in the World and build a movement that transforms the way people interact with the game." Senda
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
- Mar 8, 2019
Women's World Cup Here We Come
Soccer Without Borders is thrilled to announce its delegation for the upcoming Youth Festival at the FIFA Women's World Cup, hosted by streetfootballworld and Sport dans la Ville. From June 29 to July 8, 2019, forty delegations representing the leading football for development organizations from around the world will head to Lyon, France for a festival of football, fair play, and female empowerment. Meet our Soccer Without Borders delegation: Shiham, SWB Oakland, Player Shiha
Soccer without Borders
- Mar 4, 2019
SWB Uganda Coach Featured by Common Goal
"It was an opportunity to give back to my fellow refugees that came to Uganda and faced the same obstacles that I was facing. It's what pushes me to work harder and harder every day." — Jules, Program Coordinator, SWB Uganda After fleeing the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jules arrived in Uganda as a refugee where he soon joined Soccer Without Borders as a participant. Now 8 years later, Jules works as a full-time Program Coordinator at SWB where he wears many hats and se
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
Soccer without Borders
- Aug 10, 2018
Local non-profits and Councilmember Dave Upthegrove come together for Kent Immigrant and Refugee Com
With councilmember’s support, Soccer Without Borders and World Relief are teaming up to host the 1st Annual Kent Immigrant and Refugee Community Soccer Camp Kent, WA – From August 13-17th, Soccer Without Borders (SWB) and World Relief are hosting a soccer camp for nearly 100 newly arrived immigrant and refugee youth in Kent, WA. The week-long day camp was made possible with the support of King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove, who helped to mobilize a Get Active / Stay A
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 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 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
- Apr 18, 2018
Soccer Without Borders Awarded $25,000 From U.S. Soccer Foundation
Grant to Fund Innovative Programming That Keeps Teens in the Game CAMBRIDGE, MA – Soccer Without Borders today announced it has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the U.S. Soccer Foundation, the national model for sports-based youth development programs in underserved communities. This grant is intended to fund key components within Soccer Without Borders programs that ensure participant retention into the teen years, particularly trauma-informed coach training, monitoring & e
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
- 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
- Jan 31, 2018
Introducing Soccer Without Borders Seattle
Soccer Without Borders (SWB) is pleased to announce the addition of its newest program: SWB Seattle. The Seattle program will open in partnership with the Seattle World School in March 2018, beginning practices and games with newcomer refugee and immigrant youth this Spring. Seattle World School (SWS) is a public school for newcomer students ages 11-20, serving over 230 students in 2016-2017 and growing still. First designed solely as an orientation center for newcomer refu
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
- May 31, 2017
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Names SWB Finalist for Sports Award
PRINCETON, N.J.,– The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has announced 16 finalists for the 2017 Sports Award, an honor recognizing professional teams, individuals, and organizations that strengthen and serve communities through sport. The winners will be honored on September 13, 2017 during an awards presentation at the Foundation’s headquarters in Princeton, N.J. The Sports Award recognizes innovative and influential approaches to using sports to make communities healthi
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
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
- Mar 27, 2017
Why We Measure- An Inside Look at M&E at SWB Uganda
As Soccer Without Borders continues to evolve, we are constantly asking ourselves two major questions: How much of an impact are we making? And how can we improve our program? This is where Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) comes into the picture, and why I got to spend four months in Uganda alongside the incredibly dedicated program staff working to make a difference in the lives of refugees in Kampala. By keeping track of who our program participants are- which country they a
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
bottom of page