Soccer 5® Partners National Recreation and Parks Association on National Youth Sports investment initiatives

Soccer 5® and NRPA announce a partnership to develop youth sports in Parks and Recreation throughout the country, focusing on small sided soccer initiatives

CHARLESTON, SC, UNITED STATES, April 22, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Soccer 5^® and NRPA have announced a partnership to develop Youth Sports in Parks and Recreation throughout the country, focusing on small sided soccer facilities investment to develop the benefits of creating small sided soccer facilities in Parks within a Public Private Partnership Framework offering more spaces to play and more places to learn soccer in parks around the country and delivering outstanding revenues back to parks for reinvestment.

Soccer 5^® Co Founder Alan Georgeson said : "We are thrilled to enter this partnership with NRPA with a laser focus on investment, creating and operating small sided soccer facilities, which benefit parks around the country", and added "benefits include:

Creating more spaces for communities of all ages and abilities to play and learn soccer
Revitalizing underutilized park spaces and energizing parks communities
Bringing revenue streams to parks with no capital expenditure from parks
Multi million Soccer 5^® development per park over a long term lease"

Soccer 5^® has worked in partnership with many parks systems, having invested over $15 million to date and with plans to invest a further $50 million by 2030. Successful partnerships like Palm Beach County Parks, where Director Jennifer Cirillo said "John Prince Parks is one of the oldest and largest county parks in Florida, and we were looking to revitalize some of its assets by introducing small sided soccer, and chose Soccer 5^®".

Bret Gaither, Senior Director, Development at NRPA said "We are thrilled to partner with Soccer 5^® and we believe all children deserve open and fair access to high-quality youth sports opportunities. Research shows that when children play sports, they increase their chances to grow up healthy, feel good about themselves, build friendships, develop skills like teamwork and respect, and are more likely to succeed in school and in their future careers. Local park and recreation agencies reach more than 40 million youth each year, with the majority of agencies (more than 92 percent) providing youth with opportunities to play sports. To ensure all kids have the opportunity for sports and play, NRPA is working with park and recreation professionals and our partners to revitalize park and recreation sports and advance systems change approaches that increase access to quality youth sports for all. Specifically, NRPA is focused on the following objectives:

By 2029, develop, disseminate and advance NRPA’s Youth Sports Framework to achieve a 10 percent increase in key youth sports strategies to reduce obstacles and expand the reach and impact of youth sports programs in parks and recreation.
By 2029, provide direct support through funding and training to more than 150 agencies and train 45,000 coaches to improve outcomes in under-resourced communities through the power of sports.
By 2029, increase the percentage of youth participating in and benefiting from organized youth sports opportunities in parks and recreation by 10 percent nationally".

Alan Georgeson
Soccer 5 USA
+1 305-393-5230
email us here
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