It’s a soccer story only the irrepressible Ted Lasso, TV’s likeable and unlikely soccer coach, would think was possible. Teenage sons and daughters of immigrants and refugees in Memphis form makeshift neighborhood soccer teams that win a state championship and then a World Cup. “Well, you say impossible, but all I hear is, ‘I’m possible,’ ” Lasso, the American football coach who moves to England to coach a multicultural pro soccer team, would say. Improbable, yes, but not impossible. The boys’ team from Play Where You Stay (PWYS), an inclusive, inexpensive, neighborhood-based soccer program, did win the 2021 Division 2 State Cup last fall. Now, three members of the PWYS girls team are flying to Qatar Thursday, Oct. 6, to play for Team USA in the Street Child World Cup. Yessica Muñoz, Brenda Gonzalez and Marlene Casas Reyes will join three teenagers from Chicago and four from New York to compete for the cup with girls teams from 12 others countries. The Memphis girls, all U.S.-born daughters of Mexican immigrants, will play at some of the same facilities that will host the 2022 World Cup, which kicks off in late November. They also will participate in a General Assembly organized to call attention to

Come join our Competitive Boys teams this Fall! We're excited to announce that we will be having tryouts for our three boys competitive teams soon! While Fall seems like a long time away, now is the time to plan and prepare for the 2022 Fall soccer season. With each season we work to improve our program and increase the opportunities to expose players to high-quality training and competition. We will have three teams! Please fill out our player interest form at playwhereyoustay.org/competitive and we will get back to you with tryouts' location and time for your team. Tryouts will go from May 30th until June 10th. Check out all the info below and share it with your friends, families, and soccer fans. Our programming is free/low cost and our mission is to create a future in which every child has a chance to grow up with the world’s game. Questions? Contact us at (901)864-2800 or at learn@playwhereyoustay.org Interest Form Your donations support our coaches! If you wish to donate to Play Where You Stay and help us cover coaching and equipment costs, please do it by using the button below. Donate here

New updates on your impact As one of Play Where You Stay's most impactful supporters, your past contributions have allowed PWYS to grow into a premier sports organization that makes soccer in Memphis more accessible, inclusive, competitive, and joyful. To share our appreciation, we will be reaching out four times per year to share details of PWYS news, programs, and initiatives. Thank you for being a part! In March, players from our Boys and Girls Middle School teams joined a private practice session with former professional Soccer player, Tim Howard. Play Where You Stay's Work with Schools When Play Where You Stay was founded in 2018, programming focused on bringing soccer to Memphis neighborhoods for children ages 5 to 11 by creating an after-school barrier-free opportunity to learn, play, and exercise in nearby lots and parks. In 2019, we launched a competitive program for children ages 12 to 18 to supplement middle and high school team sport experiences with skilled off-season “club” play and competitive training. In the fall of 2021, Play Where You Stay supported Snowden's Middle School girl's team. We learned that school teams face challenges finding skilled soccer coaches and accessing appropriate equipment to ensure players maximize their

PWYS UPDATE Thank you for sharing this incredible past year with us. During this holiday season, join us in reflecting on some of our favorite moments of the last year. Instructional Soccer This year we brought the world's greatest game to parks and greenspaces all around the city. Special thanks to our partners at Klondike Park, Gaston Park, Chandler Park, For The Kingdom, Binghampton Park, Parkway Village Elementary, Gaisman Park, and 2nd Baptist Church. Game Day Our Game Days were a great opportunity for all our players ages 5-11 to put into action all the skills learned during our instructional seasons! 3v3 Adult Fundraiser Tournament We hosted a 3v3 adult tournament at Klondike Park to raise funds for our Instructional program for kids ages 5-11. It was an amazing day with a lot of 3v3 soccer! We welcomed our first Intern from Christian Brothers University! Jacob assisted in all program daily operations, communications with parents, coaches, and partners and helped develop strategies for growing the organization. PWYS Competitive We had a break-out year for our State Cup Winners and we look forward to more seasons with all of our players. Read more about the season in the Daily Memphian. High School Boys Team Middle School Boys Team

The quarter-final soccer match for the 2021 Fall State Cup was about to begin in Murfreesboro, and the team from Memphis had a problem. Tennessee State Soccer Association rules require players to wear socks that match the color of their jerseys. That helps referees keep watch over a game played primarily with legs and feet. The team of teenagers from Memphis, Play Where You Stay, or PWYS, wore black jerseys, but only seven players were wearing black socks. So PWYS, competing in its first state cup tournament, had to start the match on that cold, rainy last Saturday in October four players short. They put seven players on the field instead of the normal 11. No matter. This is a team organized to counter the “pay-to-play” youth sports machine that favors kids with more family resources. This is a team that includes players from 14 Shelby County schools, with links to 10 countries on four continents. This is a team of Black, brown and white sons of refugees and immigrants as well as a few middle-class parents. This is a team of young men who have endured and overcome events exceedingly more traumatic than starting a big soccer match short-footed. “These kids have met every

In a thrilling overtime game against Chatanooga FC in Murfreesboro on Sunday, our Play Where You Stay High School Boys competitive team won the State Championship tournament! They will now advance to the 2022 US Youth Soccer Region III President’s Cup Tournament in Dallas, Texas in June! This win was the result of an incredible effort by players, parents, funders, and partners involved in both developmental and competitive Play Where You Stay programs since our founding in 2018. Your involvement over these last several years has allowed us to build successful programs that reduce barriers like transportation, money, and time in accessing excellent sports training. Why this matters: Sports participation during the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with significant mental and physical health benefits in adolescents. Those who returned to sport participation in fall 2020 reported lower anxiety and depression symptoms (study). More than 40% of families said their community-based sports provider has either closed, merged, or returned with limited capacity following the COVID pandemic (study). There has been a disparity in sports participation during COVID-19, with white youth spending 174% more time playing games than Asian youth, 46% more than Hispanic/Latino youth, and 39% more than Black youth (study). Play