About Us

Mission Statement

The mission of the Cal South Soccer Foundation is to build and empower our community through soccer.

History

The Cal South Soccer Foundation was established in 1999 to serve as a collaborative resource across the broader Southern California region to grow the game of soccer by providing knowledge, resources, and financial support to create outreach soccer programs and develop soccer facilities where such needs exist.

From the beginning, creating strong partnerships has been vital to the Foundation’s ability to raise money and grant funds to fulfill its mission. Throughout our history, we created impact in the soccer community thanks to visionary leadership, support from Cal South Youth Soccer Association and strong Community Partners. This support allowed us the opportunity to provide over $600,000 in grants to communities within Cal South’s boundaries, from San Diego to San Luis Obispo and Bakersfield.

Previous Community Projects

One Watts Program

In 2011, the Cal South Soccer Foundation provided a grant to People for Parks Los Angeles to assist with the One Watts Program. One Watts was a collaboration between People for Parks and the City of L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks. The cluster's "smart recreation" programs build meaningful friendships between youth of the different neighborhoods. One Watts subsequently received the Gold Medal for best parks program announced at the 2011 Spotlight Awards given by the Governors' Council on Physical Fitness.

Orsonio Park

In 2012, the Cal South Soccer Foundation awarded a grant to the PUMAS Soccer Club to support the development of two soccer fields. This partnership brought tighter the City of La Habra, Pumas Soccer Club, and Cal South Foundation to build the facility using volunteers. Today the 5.0-acre natural turf park has one 120yards x75 yard field and a 35 yard by 55-yard field.

El Modena High School Kelly Field

The Cal South Soccer Foundation partnered with Orange Unified School District, El Modena High School to convert the stadium field to synthetic turf field.

John Ferraro Athletic Fields

In 2014, partnership with US Soccer Foundation, Brotherhood Crusade, and Los Angeles Parks and Recreation, the Cal South Foundation was part of a 10.5-million-dollar renovation of John Ferraro Athletic Fields located at Griffith Park in Los Angeles.

City of Escondido/Escondido Soccer Club Field

In 2011, the Cal South Soccer Foundation partnered with Escondido soccer club and City of Escondido to help improve and existing soccer field.

The Field of Champions Project in Santa Barbara

The Field of Champions Project in Santa Barbara is a perfect example of the type of Field Development project that the Cal South Soccer Foundation seeks to aid through its twice-annual grant process. The Santa Barbara Soccer Club and San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara partnered to renovate the existing high school football field from grass to turf surface. This project will provide them year-round use of the facility with minimal maintenance, water use or down time due to having to rest a grass field.

Challenge

The barriers to participate in organized sports for youth and communities continue to increase due to rising costs, increased travel, and fewer local options coming out of the Global Pandemic. These barriers have a disproportional effect on communities with fewer resources and support.

Vision

We believe that every community in Southern California should have equitable access and opportunity to Soccer.

Values

Collaboration

We believe in the power of teams. Collectively we can create the impact we wish to see in our shared communities.

Continuous Learning

We seek to listen and understand from our communities and embrace varying perspectives with the intention to provide suitable solutions for the individual community.

Integrity

We will be consistent and align our words with action. We are accountable for our decisions and are committed to hold ourselves to the highest standard.

DEI

We guarantee that our actions are embedded in the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We acceptance the distinctive qualities of all individuals and are committed to creating an equitable playing field for all. We strive to create an environment where individuals feel respected, cared for and that they belong.

Goals

By the 2026 World Cup in LA we will: