FOOTBALL4GOOD MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2019

adding a football component. “That work, while important,” Ben remem- bers, “was actually more about learn- ing from other organisations and indi- viduals, and refining the programme model Soccer Without Borders would eventually develop.” The first “real Soccer Without Borders programme”, as Ben calls it, took place on a local pitch near where he grew up. His partner Lauren made him aware of the challenges facing new arrivals in their home city. At the time, she was working in refugee resettlement for the International Rescue Committee in Oakland, California. “She noticed a huge gap in services for refugee children and youth,” Ben recounts, “and suggested doing a camp for those students in the summer, when many of them were isolated at home.” Soccer Without Borders Co-Founder Mary McVeigh Connor (top left) poses for a group photo at the first girls’ team practice at Soccer Without Borders Nicaragua, 2008. In partnership with the International Rescue Committee, Soccer Without Borders held a ‘Soccer Camp’ that summer for refugee youth recently resettled in Oakland with the major- ity from Liberia, Myanmar, Thailand and Uzbekistan. As well as offering football and other activities, like dance or yoga, the camp was also the first time Ben could put some of the main tenets of the Soccer Without Borders curriculum into practice. “We used team-building games, a low coach-to- player ratio and intentional grouping strategies to make Soccer Without Borders feel like a safe space,” Ben says to offer a few examples. “Many of those principles are still in use today, though they have been improved, but I consider them to be essential to what a Soccer Without Borders programme really is.” On the first day, 20 young players arrived. The following day, five more joined them. By the end, the camp had multiplied to 50 participants. With football, Ben hoped to use a sport that could connect young people from different backgrounds who spoke different languages. “It was also a game I knew well,” he admits, “and I hoped my ability to play and teach the game would help young people connect with me.” His plan succeeded. As the soccer camp drew to a close, many of the young players ap- proached Ben asking him to contin- ue the activities. “It became clear,” he reflects, “that the programme Soccer Without Borders was offer- ing was in high demand from the community.” Later that year, Soccer Without Borders formed its first year-round team. Further teams fol- lowed and the organisation began growing at a steady pace. For the first four years, Soccer Without Borders still relied entirely upon volunteer staff. One of the first of these volunteers was Mary McVeigh, who would later become the organ- isation’s first Executive Director and then Co-Founder. “It was pretty clear right away that Mary was not a typical volunteer,” Ben notes, “She was so thoughtful in the questions she asked about the work, the community and her role, and also went above and be- yond in terms of directing resources to the work and creating new opportuni- ties for participants.” Mary and Ben had met at Lehigh 72 73 FOOTBALL4GOODMAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2019 “BEN’S VISION OF THE SOCCER FIELD AND THE SOCCER TEAM AS AN ALTERNATIVE CLASSROOM REALLY CONNECTED DOTS WITH ME IN A WAYS THAT I HADN’T THOUGHT ABOUT BEFORE.” Mary McVeigh Connor, Co-Founder of Soccer Without Borders KICKSTARTERS