As FIFA World Cup excitement builds across Boston, a new community soccer facility at West Broadway is ensuring the tournament’s impact will extend far beyond the final whistle.
Community leaders, residents, nonprofit partners, and city officials gathered Wednesday to celebrate the opening of the new Visa Street Soccer Park at the West Broadway housing development, featuring two mini soccer pitches and free programming for local youth and families.
The project is part of a nationwide effort led by Street Soccer USA, Visa, and Bank of America to create lasting community benefits in all 11 U.S. host cities.
“Our mission is to fight poverty and strengthen communities through soccer,” said Lawrence Cann, co-founder with his brother, Rob, of the nonprofit Street Soccer USA.
Cann said the organization wanted to ensure the World Cup left a meaningful legacy in neighborhoods like South Boston.
“I don’t want to say our fear, but our concern was that the World Cup would arrive in the United States, and we would see it on the TV screens and in the stadiums, but it wouldn’t leave a legacy here in communities like where we are today,” he said. “But Visa and Bank of America have ensured that we’re not only building here, but we’re building in every U.S. host city where communities can come together and have access to soccer.”
The facility will serve as a hub for free soccer and youth development programming led by Soccer Unity Project.
“I just want to say to Bank of America and Visa, thank you, because we’ve all been talking a lot about building legacy from the World Cup, and how we can take this powerful moment that’s coming to our city and our country and do something,” said Soccer Unity Project founder Caroline Foscato. “You have stepped up to do something, and that is huge.”
Foscato emphasized that the new facility is designed to meet community needs.
“We are going to work together with the BHA community to give them the programming that they want, not that we think that they should have,” she said.
She also highlighted the importance of bringing opportunities directly into neighborhoods. “When you talk about access, when you talk about creating opportunity, it’s not necessarily just free programs,” she said. “It needs to be in the community, it needs to be where the people live that they feel safe and they feel like they can be part of.”
Visa’s Shawn Randall said the project has grown into a nationwide initiative.
“It was a little more than a year ago that I approached Bank of America and told them what Visa was doing with Street Soccer USA,” Randall said. “The ask was, do you want to get involved with a few of these parks and support the work that we’re doing in some of the cities, and they said no, we want to do it in all 11 host cities in the U.S.”
Randall noted that the Boston facility marks the eighth park to open nationally.
“We’re capitalizing on the momentum of the World Cup,” he said. “We’re going to build on that excitement and leave this legacy behind.”
Bank of America Massachusetts President Miceal Chamberlain said the project aligns with the company’s efforts to expand access to sports opportunities.
“The great thing about the World Cup is it’s going to bring an even bigger interest in the game of soccer,” he said. “It’s really important that organizations like us provide the opportunity for inner-city youth to learn about the game, to have access to wonderful programming from community partners.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu praised the collaboration and the long-term impact of the investment.
“We know that the World Cup is a big deal,” Wu said. “We know this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our city to be hosting the games and to be welcoming people from all over to see just how special Boston is.”
She added, “It is so meaningful that even with all of this happening over the next couple weeks in the summer, we’re here to celebrate something that will be here long after that.”
The mayor noted that the facility will serve not only West Broadway residents but also students from the Condon School.
“We will have not only the 460 young people and their families in the West Broadway community, but more than 500 students at the Condon School right nearby able to access free programming here on a regular basis,” Wu said.
Boston Housing Authority Administrator Kenzie Bok said the project was guided by residents from the beginning.
“For us, everything we do here is always resident-led,” Bok said. “Our first call was to go talk to our resident leadership here at West Broadway, and they were enthusiastic and ready to embrace the opportunity.”
Bok said residents saw the facility as more than just a place to play soccer.
“The focus was on their kids and every kid that they see wandering around who doesn’t have much to do,” she said. “They were excited about the opportunity to play soccer, but also the opportunity to teach other young people soccer, the sort of chains of youth mentorship that we make around these kinds of activities.”
She added that the facility could have a transformative impact on the neighborhood.
“It really is the kind of thing that can transform a community.”
West Broadway resident leader Claudia Osorio closed the ceremony by reflecting on what the new space means to local families.
“This is more than just a place to play soccer,” Osorio said. “It is a place where children, youth, and families can come together, stay active, and build a strong community.”
Following a ribbon-cutting ceremony, children immediately took to the new pitches, beginning what organizers hope will become a lasting World Cup legacy in South Boston for generations to come.
