From Our Community to the World Stage: A Look Back at the Quaker Player Escort Program

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Photos by Burt Granofsky, used with permission.

Imagine being 10 years old, hearing more than 60,000 fans roaring, and realizing you're about to walk onto the field alongside some of the world's biggest soccer stars.

That's exactly what happened for 122 Soccer Without Borders participants this summer through the Quaker Player Escort Program.

As the official sponsor of the Player Escort Program at the FIFA World Cup 26™, Quaker partnered with Common Goal to connect more than 1,400 young people from soccer-based community organizations across all 11 U.S. host cities with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Across 66 matches, participants took part in one of the World Cup's most iconic traditions. They walked onto the field with the players before kickoff and stood beside them as national anthems rang out.

For SWB, that included 66 participants from Massachusetts who took part in the England vs. Ghana, Norway vs. France, Norway vs. Iraq, and Scotland vs. Morocco matches in Boston. Another 56 participants from the Bay Area joined the program for Switzerland vs. Qatar, Austria vs. Jordan, Turkey vs. Paraguay, Jordan vs. Algeria, and Paraguay vs. Australia. 

"My dad is happy because I'm on TV," Jason said before taking the field in the Bay Area. Fabian described feeling "a little nervous and a little not nervous" as he prepared to walk out in front of more than 60,000 people at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. The memories didn't end at the final whistle. Players promised to sign their shirts, and Fabian even walked away with the goalkeeper's jersey.

Over at Boston Stadium, Samuel had an unforgettable moment of his own when he learned he would be walking alongside Norwegian star Erling Haaland. "My eyes just popped open," he remembered. "I was like, 'Whoa, whoa, what is happening?'" Samuel worked up the courage to ask Haaland for an autograph and could hardly believe it when he agreed. "I had happy tears," he said. "I couldn't believe it."

For a few unforgettable moments, the World Cup wasn't something our participants watched from the stands or on TV. They experienced it from the field itself, representing families and communities with roots around the world as they stepped onto soccer's biggest stage with pride, excitement, and a story of their own.

That sense of representation matters. Soccer is often the first shared language young people find when they arrive in a new community. It is where they meet teammates, build confidence, and begin to feel that they belong. Seeing SWB participants take their place on the World Cup stage was a joyful reminder that the game belongs to them, too.

We're grateful to Quaker, Common Goal, and FIFA for making these unforgettable experiences possible. Special thanks to photographer Burt Granofsky for generously providing the photos featured above.