This fall, the Boys & Girls Club of East Los Angeles will celebrate the third anniversary of a world-class soccer field at McDonnell Avenue in East Los Angeles.
The field was a gift to the Boys & Girls Club of East Los Angeles by the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Washington, DC. The Embassy partnered with City Soccer in the Community, to provide local kids with a quality playing field and access to first-class coaching and education programs.
The field has become an integral part of the Boys & Girls Club’s community-based programming to enhance sports, fitness, and recreation activities for children in the area. The soccer field and coaching has directly benefited more than 2,500 children served by the Club in the greater East Los Angeles community.
“Sports have an incredible ability to unite people and tangibly improve the communities they touch,” said UAE Ambassador to the US Yousef Al Otaiba. Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba is a big soccer fan, having played the game since he was a child, and is committed to expressing the UAE’s support for the US through the sport he loves.
Since 2010, the UAE has collaborated with local organizations in the US, such as local Boys & Girls Clubs, to turn unused space into high-quality, long-lasting soccer fields that can be enjoyed for children for years to come. Community partners provide complimentary coaching and education programming to help communities learn to appreciate the game of soccer. The UAE Embassy has donated soccer fields in five cities: Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago, East Los Angeles, and Miami. New fields are under construction in Dallas and communities in New Jersey that were impacted by Hurricane Sandy.
