Sport Court® Partners With U.S. Soccer Foundation And Street Soccer USA to Provide Court For Homeless Cup June 27-29

Providing a playing field for the homeless and those in poverty generates self-esteem and a chance to go on to the World Cup. The movie "Kickin' It" featured street soccer.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) June 21, 2008 -- When the Homeless USA Cup is played in the nation's capital on June 27-29, the action will take place on a custom-designed soccer pitch manufactured by Sport Court®, the Utah-based supplier of modular sports surfacing.

Thanks to a grant from the U.S. Soccer Foundation, the Major Charitable Arm of Soccer in the U.S., all of the tournament games will be played on a new portable field built to Homeless World Cup specifications, announced Ron Cerny, President and CEO of Connor Sport Court.

The grantee, Street Soccer USA, holds the Homeless USA Cup as part of the process for selecting the United States' team for the Homeless World Cup, to be held Dec. 1-7 in Melbourne, Australia. Other supporters of the tournament include the U.S. Soccer Foundation, Connor Sport Court, the Urban Ministry Center, the National Coalition for the Homeless, Wachovia and the Leonsis Family Foundation.

"The Foundation continues to be inspired by the mission and positive impact of the Homeless World Cup program and is proud to be building upon our past support for Street Soccer USA," said Ed Foster-Simeon, President of the U.S. Soccer Foundation. "We're delighted to partner with Sport Court® in providing the custom, portable playing surface being used at this year's Homeless USA Cup."

Street soccer is a mini-version of the traditional game of soccer, which can be played on any hard, flat rectangular surface, roughly the size of a tennis court. The new "traveling field" gives the U.S. team an attractive, safe surface on which to play, and a sense of identity for the players. Four players compete on each side (one of them is a goalie) and games last for 14 minutes each. While games are short, they are very fast-paced. The name of the event was coined in 2003 during the first Homeless World Cup.

The Homeless World Cup began in 2003 as a "catalyst for lasting change through the development of street soccer worldwide in a way that creates maximum social impact for the players involved--the socially excluded, homeless people and people living in poverty."

The first event brought together dozens of homeless men and women from across the world to compete while also improving their lives. More than 500 players took part in the 2007 World Homeless Cup in Copenhagen, Denmark. For more information, please visit www.streetsoccerusa.org

More athletic events are played on Connor Sport Court surfaces than on any other sports flooring in the world. Sport Court® is a registered trade mark of Connor Sport Court International. Since 1974, it has identified the original and authentic modular sport surface, continuously improved and patented to provide the highest levels of quality and performance.

About the U.S. Soccer Foundation
The U.S. Soccer Foundation was established in 1994 to manage the surplus funds generated by the 1994 FIFA World Cup held in the United States. As the Major Charitable Arm of Soccer in the U.S., the Foundation has invested more than $48 million in the game, supporting hundreds of projects in every state in the country. The Foundation provides grants focused on developing players, coaches and referees and building or enhancing fields and soccer complexes, with a special emphasis on youth in economically disadvantaged urban communities. For more information, or to donate online, please visit ussoccerfoundation.org.

For more Sport Court information contact Jeff Morton, 801-414-6159
jmorton(at)sportcourt.com

For information on the U.S. Soccer Foundation please contact
Meredith McClure, U.S. Soccer Foundation, 202-872-6662, mmcclure(at)ussoccerfoundation.org

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