Atlanta United Foundation, MARTA, The City of Atlanta and Soccer in the Streets to Open StationSoccer Pitches at Lindbergh Station

  Atlanta United Foundation, MARTA, The City of Atlanta and Soccer in the Streets to Open StationSoccer Pitches at Lindbergh Station

Construction has kicked off at the latest location of the planned “League of Stations”

StationSoccer- Lindbergh Rendering

Soccer in the Streets, in partnership with MARTA, The City of Atlanta - Department of Planning and the Atlanta United Foundation have broken ground on StationSoccer’s fourth location at Lindbergh MARTA Station. Officially named StationSoccer- Lindbergh, this location is unique to our Soccer in the Streets community as it will be located adjacent to the MARTA headquarters and is the first StationSoccer location on the northern part of the transit network. The construction has begun at the new location and the plan is to launch the field in fall 2020. To view the current state of the pitch check out the photos below!

“The Atlanta United Foundation is proud to be a part of the expansion of the StationSoccer initiative to the northside of the city,” said Darren Eales, president of Atlanta United. “The launch of StationSoccer-Lindbergh is another example of the successful collaboration between AUF, Soccer in the Streets, and city officials to make soccer accessible to all.  StationSoccer is an important and impactful project, and we look forward to continuing to support our community and grow the game of soccer for years to come.”

“We are excited to keep building out the StationSoccer initiative and now be on the Northside of Atlanta,” said Phil Hill, Executive Director of Soccer in the Streets. “The kids need us more than ever as we continue to provide underserved youth with new ways to thrive both on and off the field."

“MARTA is so proud of our partnership with Soccer in the Streets and the steady progress we’re making toward the goal of a 10-station League of Stations,” said MARTA General Manager and CEO Jeffrey Parker.  “The world’s first transit-based soccer league, Station Soccer is making a huge impact on the kids and families they coach and it epitomizes MARTA’s commitment to the neighborhoods we serve.”

Founding StationSoccer partners - Atlanta United Foundation, MARTA, and the City of Atlanta - are committed to the growth of StationSoccer over the long term. The StationSoccer – Lindbergh project is a result of a collaborative effort involving other partners including, HKS, Musco Lighting, FieldTurf, and Deluxe Athletics. Other local area partners that have committed to making this project successful are Rubenstein partners, Mercedes Benz of Buckhead, HNTB, Georgia Power, Jacobs, Stadler, HJ Russell, & Chestnut Family Foundation.

Sanjay Patel, Director of Strategic Projects for Soccer in the Streets added “Having already worked in this community, we look forward to adding more access to soccer and learning opportunities for local youth whilst growing the League of Stations.”

Learn more about the other StationSoccer locations here: https://www.soccerstreets.org/station-soccer

Soccer in the Streets West End Program Manager, Joel Apudo recognized at ESPN’s annual ESPY awards as a recipient of The Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award

A natural-born leader and soccer enthusiast, Joel Apudo recently garnered some national spotlight when he became a recipient of ESPN’s Billie Jean King Leadership Award. Joel was recognized at the annual ESPY awards that were streamed nationally on ESPN. This specific award celebrates and honors youth who are using the power of sport as a catalyst for change and making a positive impact on society.

Apudo showed leadership skills from a young age and much of the things he grasped at a young age helped in his role as a community leader in the West End. He has played soccer since he was seven years old and is the oldest of four children, so he adopted a general responsibility to help others when needed.

As Joel moved from Dayton, Ohio to Atlanta, Georgia as a highschooler it was a crucial time for him. He knew he had to succeed to go off to college as his parents moved to the US from Kenya to attend college and wanted to make his parents proud. But that doesn’t come with ease. 

Playing soccer was his escape from reality and the new atmosphere he was trying to fit into. He started to make friends and realized that anything is possible if you just put yourself out there even if you fail.

Apudo moved to the West End community after high school and realized that college was the next step for him, even if it was a big step that he wasn’t truly ready for. Attending college at Georgia State University, he was confident that he could do anything. 

After attending college for two years, he wanted to keep playing soccer and get back into the swing of things. 

“I came across Soccer in the Streets through web searches and realized this is where I wanted to play pick up,” said Apudo. “The organization as a whole struck him in a powerful way with the mission statement that works to develop young leaders so they can lead rich lives and cultivate healthy communities through sports-based youth development.”

Throughout playing pick up, he then realized this was his calling becoming a youth soccer coach for Soccer in the Streets In 2016, Apudo knew he wanted to step away from school and pursue his passion for soccer. 

He now manages a local soccer club in the West End neighborhood of Atlanta — a historically Black community that had also been plagued by blight and disinvestment. Apudo’s goal is to provide local kids an opportunity to access after-school resources to increase the physical and mental health of those involved with the program. The West End club program based at the West End MARTA station has played a big part in building a community hub from a soccer field where residents can connect, and kids are able to gain valuable peer-to-peer interaction. 

This also allowed youth, who had no other mode of transportation, to have access to soccer. Now known as StationSoccer, Apudo played a key role in Soccer in the Streets work to build mini fields at local train stations across Atlanta to level the playing field for youth regardless of where they live. 

“ I have lived in the West End for four years now and this is my community,” said Apudo. “ I have seen the kids I coach grow up and become something of themselves. It is powerful to experience this with them because they know I care about their well-being, but its the emotion and effort I put out on a weekly basis to see them grow as a player that brings us closer together.” 

Coach Joel with Dunbar Youth Players

Director of Strategic Projects, Sanjay Patel, nominated Joel for this specific award after years of watching him grow into a community leader.

“It’s incredible that Joel was named as a recipient and very well deserved. It also shines the light that Soccer in the Streets is not only able to make a difference to the lives of the kids we serve but also our staff,” said Patel. “Joel was one of the first staff we hired for the StationSoccer project and he has helped to grow the program and impact the West End community tremendously, we look forward to seeing how Joel’s own personal growth continues as he goes back to college and finishes his education.”

Now, Apudo is excited to return to college to obtain a bachelor’s degree and prove to his community’s kids that anyone can be successful if they set goals and work towards them. As well, ESPN will follow Joel on his journey for a year and help him pursue his dreams.

He also commented-  “I think in a time where we are trying to unlearn and come up with new ways to coexist with each other, it is important to minorities to be apart of the conversation. That’s why I want to have this degree.”

Stay tuned as we update everyone on Joel’s journey and how he leads the youth players in the West End community! 

Program Manager Sean Irving Designs Black Lives Matter T-Shirt

Sean Irving and his daughter supporting the BLM t-shirt

Sean Irving - our Program Manager on the Westside (and also a talented artist) - has designed a powerful shirt in honor of the BLM Movement and those continuing the fight for racial justice. We stand with our communities in this fight and you now have an opportunity to show your support.

All proceeds from the BLM T-Shirt will go to the family of Secoriea Turner - a Soccer in the Streets Westside youth player - who passed away earlier this month as she was gunned down in an act of senseless gun violence. We want to spread the message that violence is not the answer and to protect the youth in our communities. Read More Here

This is Sean’s personal message-  

“I call this design The Path of Protest. I wanted to connect today's protest message of BLM to the long rich tradition of Black protest in America. I recreated an iconic picture of the Selma March at the bottom. I wanted to show older and more contemporary movements together to represent low long our call for freedom has gone unanswered. I also left all of the protest signs blank. One reason is there is a wide variety of deep messages that have come out of the Black community over hundreds of years. The blank signs also symbolize the fact that no matter how conservative or liberal, no matter how complex or simple our message, it has largely been ignored. Today those messages have been simplified to the lowest common denominator...Black Lives Matter! After hundreds of years of deep struggle and sacrifice, we arrive at 2020 still having to demand that our lives simply have value in America. Yet still, Black people move forward faithfully on the path toward freedom!” - Sean Irving