Los Angeles Futbol Club Evolves Into Nonprofit LAFC Foundation

Move Enables LAFC to Further Work in U.S. and Internationally, Including Partnership with Duke University's WISER Program and Commitments to Help Impoverished African Communities

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Signaling its expanding mission to help children and teens worldwide, the Los Angeles Futbol Club has changed its structure. The nationally renowned soccer club will now operate as part of the LAFC Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. LAFC has long provided soccer scholarships and other support for talented yet economically disadvantaged young players in the U.S. But in recent months it has increasingly used the sport as a conduit for underserved youth worldwide to access social, educational and healthcare resources.

"We believe that the name change better reflects the scope and significance of what we do," said Don Sheppard, LAFC's founder and president. "While we started with the sole intent of becoming the preeminent youth soccer club in this country, we have evolved to do so much more. We seek nothing less than to help young people everywhere live healthier, safer, better lives."

Last year, LAFC paid for two Houston teens to attend school in Los Angeles and play for one of the club's top teams. In recent months, the organization also embarked on a series of philanthropic initiatives in Africa:

• Partnering with Duke's Women's Institute for Secondary Education and Research (WISER) to help fund the launch of the first girl's boarding school in Muhuru Bay, Kenya and paying for construction of a playing field and track. LAFC also established a girl's soccer league, arranged coaching clinics and provided uniforms and equipment.

• Announcing a three-year commitment to build a community-wide, school soccer program in the impoverished South African district of Umkhanyakude. The program will draw children and teens to Mpilonhle, a mobile health program funded partly by Charlize Theron's Africa Outreach Project and focused on stemming the epidemic of HIV in rural South African communities.

• Unveiling a new sports field that will benefit children orphaned by AIDS in the suburban Nairobi area of Sigona and rural Gilgil. The Umoja Sports Field will also serve the Dayspring Junior School and surrounding communities. LAFC will provide soccer balls, cleats and uniforms.

"We felt that our soccer-centered program could have a strong impact on these communities in relatively short order," said Sheppard. "The communities also fit one of our most important criteria for becoming involved: They all have vibrant, local organizations dedicated to addressing pressing health and education problems. We look for exactly these kinds of partners because such relationships ensure success."

LAFC Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that evolved from LAFC Chelsea, one of America's largest and most prominent youth soccer clubs since its launch in 2005. LAFC played a major role in the July 21 match at the historic Rose Bowl between Chelsea Football Club and Inter Milan, two of the world's best-known sports organizations. For more information, visit www.lafcfoundation.org and www.lafcsoccer.com.

SOURCE LAFC Foundation