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MISSION STATEMENT

Off The Bench is an advocacy organization designed to increase female participation at the elite level in the sport of soccer and the "AMERICA Spirit."

Our mission is two-fold:
  1. To enhance participation and opportunities by historically excluded players currently competing at the Olympic Development Program (ODP), Collegiate, and National Team level, and
  2. To promote and encourage young women of color under the age of 14 to take up the sport of soccer.
With regard to the first objective we primarily serve as advocates and intermediaries for young women of color who may be experiencing unfair or discriminating practices in the sport of soccer.

Our primary goal in promotion is to provide low-income girls of color the opportunity to develop soccer skills at a young age. Due to financial, demographic, or social hardships, young women of color are many times discouraged from pursuing the sport of soccer. Rather than choosing soccer, many young women of color might opt for track or basketball, which are often more minority tolerant and economically feasible.

Off The Bench aims to reverse this trend by providing talented low-income, young women of color with emotional and financial support so that they may access the same opportunities as their sometimes more affluent counterparts. Through our two-fold mission we aspire to augment the number of young women of color competing in the sport of soccer, thereby enhancing the richness, diversity, and talent of Women's Soccer in the USA.

Scholarships are available to young women in middle school between the ages of 9 and 14 years.

We would like to acknowledge the following colleges that support us: UVA, UNC, NCSU, Rutgers, Princeton, Maryland, William and Mary, Florida State, Florida International, University of Central Florida, Yale, Harvard, Radford, Notre Dame, James Madison, and the University of Texas.

We also thank the Soccer Camps of America, Judy Foudy Sports Leadership Academy, Carolina Courage, Freedom Camp, and many more...

Read Soccer 2008: From A-Z - A look back on the year that was in futbol, by Andrew Dixon, III, @BlackAthlete.net.

Contact Off the Bench at info@offthebench.org, fax 919-570-0381.



Off The Bench Gratefully Acknowledges Support From:













EUROSPORT Soccer & Their Staff





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