Saul Meneses Zurita looks forward to coaching his youth soccer team each week. Meneses Zurita, a Street Soccer-PDX volunteer, coaches up unaccompanied minors from Central American countries on the finer points of the game — and he might even learn a thing or two on the field himself.
“It’s a good time to relax and run,” Meneses Zurita said. “Those kids love to play and have fun. There’s a lot of banter, so when they can beat a coach or nutmeg a coach, they all cheer. I love to see them grow and learn.”
In addition to relishing the opportunity to best a coach now and again, many Street Soccer-PDX players have their sights set on competing in the Homeless World Cup, which FIFA and other organizations support. Players from around the world are competing in the 2024 Homeless World Cup in Seoul, South Korea from Sept. 21 through Sept. 28.
Players aged 17 and older from Street Soccer chapters throughout the United States, including those with Street Soccer-PDX, can qualify for a team going to the annual worldwide tournament.
The organization is just one chapter of Street Soccer USA, which helps refugee, homeless and underserved players participate for free while connecting them with resources for transportation, food, clothing and even job training. Partnerships with organizations and volunteers who step up make this possible.
Homeless World Cup
The 2024 Homeless World Cup at Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea, marks the first time the tournament is in Asia. With 49 nations represented by 64 teams and 500 players, it’s an opportunity for players across the globe.
U.S. players can try out for the Street Soccer USA National Team, which competes in the Homeless World Cup. Coaches prepare promising players for tryouts and ensure they have passports for travel.
While the current national team lacks local membership, Street Soccer-PDX hopes to find a player to go to the Homeless World Cup in 2025, representing the Pacific Northwest.
“I am interested in putting the Pacific Northwest on the map for the Homeless World Cup,” Julian Alexander, Street Soccer-PDX program director, said. “Maybe we could start a team focused on the Homeless World Cup and join forces with Seattle. I feel confident that one person could compete at that level.”
Players and partnerships
Alexander sees street soccer as a way to talk about homelessness in a different light and to humanize people experiencing it.
“We try to be the connector for folks if we can,” Alexander said. “We’ve helped at least a handful of people on their path to housing. If folks want us to help them on that journey, we definitely can.”
Street Soccer-PDX’s website reaffirms this commitment.
“To help our participants play for their goals — whether that’s securing a job, earning a high school diploma or finding a place to call home — we provided 212 individual referrals to social service agency resources,” the website says.
Street Soccer-PDX supports participants whether they succeed in soccer or not, Alexander said. He sees street soccer as a vehicle for socializing and an avenue for competing at various levels. For some, soccer can be a lifelong sport.
“Last year, we had 1,005 participants (with Street Soccer-PDX), and this year we’ve already reached 1,402,” Alexander said. “We are on track to serve over 2,000 individuals in 2024, spanning children, teens, young adults and older adults.”
Children and adults join teams on a field at the Eastside Timbers Complex, playing soccer under the lights every week. For some, this may be the only team they play on while others also play with their high school or club team, getting tips from Street Soccer-PDX coaches and some financial assistance.
Club soccer is a competitive, but costly opportunity for strong players. For example, Portland City United Soccer Club’s annual fees are $1,795 for players ages 10 to 18. Other clubs have similar costs. If fees are a barrier, Street Soccer-PDX raises money for scholarships.
Youth programs
Nicholas Anguiano, a 17 year-old junior at Centennial High School, joins friends at the Eastside Timbers Complex every Wednesday evening. He also plays after school every day with his high school junior varsity team and played club soccer in middle school.
Anguiano plays as a defender and winger for his school team. He hopes to play Division 1 college soccer and has aspirations to play professionally. He is putting in the time and effort now.
“It’s all teamwork and chemistry,” Anguiano said. “I think everybody should enjoy the opportunity they get and show up to street soccer.”
Anguiano has been playing with Street Soccer-PDX for two years and credits them with helping with more than just soccer.
“They help you achieve things you want to do in soccer,” Anguiano said. “If you want to be the best scorer, they help you to become the best scorer. Or if you want to become a better passer they’ll teach you how to pass and do all kinds of drills with you. The coaches help out a lot with teamwork and showing you not to be afraid.”
Anguiano remembers a time when the coaches gave him the confidence he needed when he was struggling with a math class. He found a way to do better in class.
“When they tell you to do better, they don’t just mean it in soccer,” Anguiano said. “They mean it in everything you do in life; school, work and other things. It helped me a lot in school. They taught me that no matter how hard it would get, you could find a way out of that struggle.”
Street Soccer-PDX reaches neighborhoods throughout Multnomah and Clackamas counties. With a focus on children from kindergarten through high school, Street Soccer-PDX staff and volunteers work closely with school districts and family service organizations.
Anguiano has younger siblings who play with the street soccer program, and he said they’ve benefited from the program as well.
“They give out clothes and cleats and it’s helped out my parents because sometimes they can’t afford it,” Anguiano said. “Getting new cleats and new gear is something that’s been good.”
Adult programs
Street Soccer-PDX also offers a variety of programming for adult players, including weekly games for adults with developmental disabilities at the Matt Dishman Community Center.
Adult Street Soccer-PDX players play at various fields around Portland. The Portland Timbers provide fields and more for players, including partnering with Street Soccer-PDX for a June resume-building workshop at Providence Park.
The workshop was an opportunity to empower people with career choices, Alexander said. The soccer ecosystem can open opportunities for job development with grant writing, nutrition and medicine. Some players go on to become coaches for the program.
“We are interested in hiring folks from the community to coach or engage in the work we do, to empower and grow whatever folks are already doing,” Alexander said. “They can funnel their passion into other careers. Soccer can be a tool to get access to a lot of different spaces.”
Uniqlo, Adidas and Nike have donated soccer gear and other clothing to players. Other donations include non-soccer clothing, towels and water bottles. C3 Food Pantry supplies food boxes for those in need. Players can get to and from the fields with free TriMet passes.
“Nike funds us as part of their community impact initiative and donates cleats and balls,” Alexander said. “Uniqlo is a clothing company and they provide shirts, shorts, pants and jackets every year.”
Street Soccer-PDX also aims to be inclusive with equal opportunities for women and LGBTQIA2S+ players, according to Alexander.
“Growing the sport with a focus on women is great,” Alexander said. “The Homeless World Cup does a great job advocating for women. If you have a soccer academy, you need to have a women’s and men’s side. Everyone represented is super important.”
Gathering on the field
Bringing families together is one of Street Soccer-PDX’s goals and Alexander pointed to a recent success as an example.
In May, the organization ran a tournament with six schools in partnership with Reynolds School District and Latino Network at Fairview Elementary. It gave players uniforms and trophies. Each child played two games and about 300 or so people showed up, including 150 children, according to Alexander.
“Nobody got hurt,” Alexander said. “We had a cafeteria full of food. Support services were there for parents. There was buy-in for the district.”
On Sept. 7, many teams gathered for the Laundry Street USA Open Futsal Cup in Portland. This tournament was organized by Street Soccer-PDX with Laundry, a vintage sportswear store on Alberta Street. Street Soccer Seattle joined with a team of players who are homeless or in transitional housing.
Moving forward
Another goal for Street Soccer-PDX is raising funds for designated fields to accommodate the growing number of players and make transportation less challenging. Using fields at the Eastside Timbers Complex and other locations is helpful, but depending on the generosity of other organizations can have its limits.
“As for the field development, we are currently fundraising to cover the $300,000 cost of building two fields along with a shipping container classroom,” Alexander said. “This project is modeled after other successful fields that Street Soccer USA has built across the country. We’ve been steadily building our reserves, aiming to break ground and have the field ready by the 2026 World Cup, which will be held across North America.”
Street Soccer PDX applied for a Reimagine Oregon Economic Opportunity Investment Fund Grant with Prosper Portland in May, a Portland city agency providing neighborhood improvement grants. Young Street Soccer-PDX participants wrote letters to Prosper Portland to emphasize the importance of having new fields.
“When I play soccer it helps me with everything, stress problems, and much more,” Junior, an eighth grader at Centennial Middle School, wrote. “I really hope we can get a field and play soccer. It would make me happy. I’m glad to be a part of Street Soccer.”
Street Soccer-PDX did not receive the grant but will keep seeking funding opportunities. It is considering locations for fields in the Cully neighborhood or Gresham, as these areas are where most players live, Alexander said.
Summing up the importance of soccer, another 15-year-old wrote, “Street soccer is everything to me. Wednesday is the only day I look forward to for the week because of street soccer.”
Meanwhile, Street Soccer-PDX will continue to make an impact locally with enthusiastic players and volunteer coaches like Meneses Zurita.
“There are phenomenal players,” Meneses Zurita said about his team. “They always are super kind to each other, supporting one another. It’s nice to give back to my community and the next generation.
“I help them out the best I can.”
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This article appears in September 25, 2024.