LOS ANGELES – The 2026 World Cup Los Angeles Host Committee, in partnership with Play Equity Fund and community members, hosted the Grow the Game of Soccer clinic series Saturday morning at the Los Angeles Community College soccer field, bringing together more than 200 participants for the launch of the series. The atmosphere was electric as youth coaches and leaders heard from community members including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Inglewood Mayor James Butts Jr.
December 5, 2025; Coaches, Community Members and Participants
Michelle Chavez – The Sports Tribune
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December 5, 2025; Coaches, community members and participants attend the launch of the inaugural Grow the Game of Football clinic at the Los Angeles Community College football stadium.
In his opening address, Mayor Butts said: “The impact of the World Cup will be felt and endure in our local communities long after next summer’s final at SoFi Stadium. The training these clinics provide for our coaches and players will impart skills that will help our young people excel on the pitch and in life.”
The initiative is a community legacy program of the Los Angeles 2026 World Cup Host Committee in partnership with the Play Equity Fund to highlight, develop and inspire the next generation of football players, coaches and referees. Saturday’s free coaching camp is the first of three scheduled this summer in the months leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Eight of the games will be played at SoFi Stadium, including the U.S. men’s national team’s opener.
The coaching clinic brings together community stakeholders, including sponsor Kaiser Permanente, the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission (LASEC), and three Los Angeles professional soccer clubs: LA Galaxy, Los Angeles FC and Angel City FC.
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The importance of the World Cup and the impact coaches can have on young people was highlighted throughout the morning. Former professional soccer player and current LA Galaxy assistant coach Kevin Hartman spoke during kick-off. “We don’t just prepare players for a tournament or a season, we prepare them for the wave of inspiration that is coming to our country. My path in football was shaped by this country’s commitment to growing the game,” he said. “The 2026 World Cup is coming and the opportunity is huge. Some of the young players we coach today may years from now say, ‘The World Cup changed me’ and some may fall in love with the game that shaped them and made them better people.”
Community nonprofits Cal South Soccer and the Center for Movement Healing and Justice, in partnership with the LA84 Foundation, are implementing new coaching courses focused on promoting health, emotional growth, and physical and mental development. Community members stressed the importance of ensuring access to appropriate training.
“I work at the Center for Sports Therapy and Justice, so we are today’s brain coaches. I’ve actually been talking with LA84 for two years about how to build something successful for coaches but also have an impact on the young people they serve in Los Angeles. The World Cup is coming up and it’s a great opportunity. Through partnerships like Cal Southern, we’re able to bring their knowledge of the game and our knowledge of brain science together to give coaches a better understanding of not just what they’re doing in the game but CHJS Chris Reed, director of national partnerships, told The Sports Tribune:
The program focuses on removing barriers to coaching education and increasing opportunities to learn and play football. With more than 640,000 youth playing soccer in Los Angeles County in 2024, according to the 2024 Play Equity Fund report, the need for practical, comprehensive training is increasing.
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“I think the current pay-to-play system in this country is a couple of barriers, especially for football. And I do think a lot of the facilities available are just not there. Not only are we trying to encourage people to play football, but we need facilities for them to play football. I mean, working in a leisure area in a city, they might only have one pitch and then there are 10 Teams are trying to practice on it. So they’re probably getting a third of the field at a time. That’s a big hurdle because, well, I think the knowledgeable coaches as well, I think the US Soccer and Cal staff are now offering coaching sessions on a regular basis to try to get coaches to learn and it’s more about how to really get to know these kids on a different level than just on an athletic level,” Cal Southern coach Chris Stone said.
The report details that while exposure to youth sports and activities is high, nearly one-third (30%) of youth have stopped playing or participating in a sport in the past two years due to barriers such as total cost, loss of interest, time commitment, and decreased enjoyment associated with the sport. The clinic series aims to reduce these barriers through training specifically targeted at youth coaches, referees and players.
These clinics have more than 150 registered coaches representing 26 Southern California regions and serve approximately 10,000 youth. Renata Simril, president of the PlayEquity Foundation and president and CEO of the LA84 Foundation, said 33% of Saturday’s participants did not have formal certification as youth coaches and about 12% only had basic certifications.
“You know, I was having coffee earlier today and a coach stopped me and said thank you for your words because it’s about shining a light on them. They’re out in the community every day supporting kids’ skills and youth development. He said, ‘Thank you for your words. I’m a parent volunteer coach.’ He said, you know, I can’t find a free Coaching Certification. You know, it’s just a phenomenal opportunity. Thank you for giving me the skills to be a better coach and a better parent. I can’t think of a more profound legacy than that we’re using the World Cup platform to drive change in the Southern California community,” Simrill told The Sports Tribune.
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The clinic features four stations, each designed to address a core component of counseling, with a focus on emotional well-being. Saturday’s session was a new one implemented by the coaches and intended to be standardized across the region by U.S. Soccer. The coaching program is accredited by USSF; however, USC provides coaching services to other football organizations.
“We are making changes to the system at Play Equity Fund. We are creating new courses. We are working with Cal South and US Soccer to incorporate this component into the Level G coaching certification for coaches in the Cal South region. We are working to embed the special curriculum we created for this program into the certification program so that any coach who is certified as a Level G coach in Soccer will have a youth development component related to skills and drills,” said. Simriel.
“That’s another powerful impact of this program: It’s going to be permanent in terms of how all coaches are trained, and then it becomes an ongoing learning effort. What new things are we learning through our research, through conversations with coaches, and how do we make sure that we’re constantly updating our coaching curriculum to meet the needs of young people in the Southern California area? We’re having a ripple effect from this coaching program.”
With 200 days until the World Cup, our goal is to continue to train staff and athletes across all sports with the appropriate knowledge and resources to create a healthy, sustainable environment for youth sports.
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“This event is actually the first of three events at the World Cup. So it’s just the beginning. We’re hoping that after these three events we’ll be able to build a coaching staff that will last a few years and that we can continue to train and continue to upgrade and support them over time. It’s a base layer model where we can do some impactful things for coaches,” Reed said.
Two additional clinics are expected to be held in early 2026, and information on how to register will be released soon.