Over the last decade, Co Founder and Executive Director, Mary McVeigh has been a backbone for Soccer Without Borders. Check out how in her 180º of Impact interview with Matt Scott.
About Mary McVeigh
Mary joined SWB from the college coaching and professional ranks, earning her Master's degree in Sociology from Lehigh University while serving as an Assistant Coach. As a player, Mary led the Dartmouth Big Green to two Sweet Sixteen appearances and national rankings during all four years of her tenure, earning NCAA Division 1 All-America and Scholar All-America honors in 2002. Upon graduation from Dartmouth, McVeigh headed to the professional field as the seventh overall draft pick for the Philadelphia Charge of the WUSA, joining IBV of the Icelandic Premier league after the WUSA league folded. Under her leadership, Soccer Without Borders has grown by every measure, establishing original infrastructure to create and manage growth and quality. Mary has built programs from the ground up, launching and leading the Granada, Nicaragua program that won the Nike Foundation’s Girl Effect Challenge in 2011, a girl-centered program that has changed the landscape of girls’ soccer in Nicaragua. She has overseen program development across SWB, and has trained more than 100 coaches in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Egypt, and the United States in best practices.
In 2016, Mary was one of 15 former professional female athletes selected for the Women Athletes' Business Network mentoring program hosted by Ernst & Young and the International Women's Forum. Previously, she was honored by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's Jerry Yeagley Award for Personal Service for her work with SWB, and has served in a number of advisory roles, including the Dartmouth Women's Soccer Advisory Board, the US Soccer Foundation's Symposium committee, the Streetfootballworld Gender Working Group, the International Safeguarding Children in Sport Learning Set, and the Women Deliver Girl Power in Play Advisory Committee. She has presented at national conferences including the U.S. Soccer Foundation Symposium, the NSCAA Convention, and Hofstra's Soccer As the Beautiful Game.
About Soccer Without Borders
Soccer Without Borders, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that runs year-round youth development programs in under-served areas in the USA and abroad, Soccer Without Borders uses soccer as a vehicle for positive change. Through five core activities and a powerful team environment, SWB programs provide youth with a toolkit to overcome obstacles to growth, inclusion and personal success. Since 2006, SWB has led programs and collaborations in eleven countries on five continents. The winners of the 2017 FIFA Diversity Award, Soccer Without Borders is best known for its work with newcomer refugee, asylee, and immigrant youth as well as engaging girls of all cultural backgrounds.