Nike has committed approximately $1 million to fuel soccer in 15 communities throughout the U.S. Nike will donate three Joga Bonito soccer fields in Los Angeles, three fields in New York and four fields in Chicago as well as provide soccer equipment for 12 additional cities. Each of the 10 fields is made from FieldTurf synthetic grass, and is designed to introduce the Brazilian futsal-style of small-field soccer that emphasizes ball control and foot skills to youth recreation and club teams.
To kick off Nike's national announcement of the Joga Bonito fields and soccer equipment donation, U.S. soccer stars Landon Donovan and Brandi Chastain will visit kids at the Los Angeles City Department of Recreation & Parks' Glassell Park for the dedication of the new soccer field. The Joga Bonito field will be used primarily by the local Anahuak League and its 1,500 kids.
The Los Angeles field dedication is the first of 10 fields Nike will donate in the U.S. Nike partnered with local organizations in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago to install the fields in local communities over the next few months. In Los Angeles, specifically, the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles (AAF) partnered with Nike to provide funding for the fields.
Each Joga Bonito field donation is part of the NikeGO Places program which takes worn-out athletic shoes and/or footwear manufacturing materials, grinds them up into a material called Nike Grind, and uses that in creating new sports and play surfaces. The Joga Bonito fields will incorporate approximately 20 to 25 percent Nike Grind Rubber. A total of 16,000 pounds of Nike Grind Rubber in the Los Angeles fields alone represents how the remains from manufacturing over 60,000 pairs of sports shoes can be used to benefit both the environment and the youth in underserved communities.
Nike will also make soccer equipment donations to 12 additional cities including: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Newark, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington D.C. Each equipment donation includes soccer balls, soccer t-shirts and a Joga Bonito tool kit that teaches Nike's 3-on-3 version of futsal, called Joga3.
“The Joga Bonito fields project is an expression of our belief in the power of sport to create change in the lives of young people,” said Joaquin Hidalgo, Vice President of U.S. Marketing for Nike. “By bringing world-class pitches to areas otherwise underserved, our goal is to create greater access and opportunity for youth in these communities to play soccer beautifully and enjoy the physical, social and emotional benefits of a physically active lifestyle.”
At the Glassell Park field dedication, Donovan and Chastain will speak to the importance of providing kids with opportunities to participate in sport. Donovan will kick the field's inaugural goal before opening the field for its first Nike Joga3 soccer tournament. Donovan and Chastain each read lines from a commemorative plaque that will accompany each of the 10 fields being dedicated.
“With the games in Germany right around the corner, this is an exiting time for U.S. Soccer. I'm happy that Nike is continuing to make such a major commitment to fueling the game in America with the donation of these 10 Joga Bonito soccer fields,” said Landon Donovan, starting forward for the U.S. National Soccer team. “I'm glad I could be a part of today's field dedication and know the kids will pass on the Joga Bonito or 'Play Beautiful' spirit that Nike intended.”
Chastain, a member of the 1999 Women's World Cup team, a gold medalist for the U.S. Women's National Team and pregnant with her first child, echoed Donovan's sentiments, “I am constantly impressed with Nike's continual effort to promote and grow the world's greatest sport, from the bottom to the top. Not only have they continued to support national teams around the world, they have begun the Joga Bonita campaign to refocus everyone on the most fundamental aspects of sport: fun, heart, joy, passion and sportsmanship. About to become a mother for the first time, it is Nike's effort to drive home these points that makes me realize how important soccer, and sports in general, are to the development of young people.”
Nike Joga Bonito field dedications in Chicago and New York, as well as the remaining fields in Los Angeles, are forthcoming and will be announced this summer as each field nears completion.
