President of Sacramento Republic FC Warren Smith announced that his company will be supporting a soccer team created to help the homeless population of Sacramento. The partnership is with a new group known as Street Soccer USA Sacramento. This group hopes to use the popular game as a way to teach homeless adults and youth at-risk important life skills.

The group is also working with Loaves and Fishes, and other similar organizations to make sure that those involved in the team are receiving the social services they are entitled to and that is available to them.

“The group does incredible work, around the country and world, using the beautiful game to hit social weaknesses in communities,” Smith said. “It’s a great way to use the sport to help the community. I couldn’t be happier to partner with them.”

The group’s founder, Lawrence Cann, said that Street Soccer USA Sacramento is just one part of a national organization which sponsors 16 programs throughout the country. San Francisco also has a branch. The Sacramento branch has been developing over the past five years informally, organizing soccer games for homeless people in the state’s capital. The teams train each year for a national tournament.

The philosophy of the group is to get the homeless to socialize more and think about values such as loyalty and responsibility, said executive director Lisa Wrightsman. She stated that while the participants are having fun playing the game of soccer, they are also learning about eight “core concepts” or life skills.

“One core skill is showing up,” Wrightsman said. “That means being there on time, and being mentally prepared to communicate and play. We ask (our players) what that skill might look like outside of soccer? It might mean showing up to a job, or to school, to an AA meeting or to counseling.”