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The Immigrant Youth Finding Safety in Local Soccer Leagues

Before the World Cup touched down in the Bay Area, local soccer leagues have provided a rare place of solace for immigrant youth.
Maddy Boston, coach and program manager at Soccer Without Borders Bay Area, wraps her arms around a player who forgot to bring a jacket to practice on Thursday, March 20, 2025 (Hiram Alejandro Durán for El Tímpano/CatchLight Local/ Report for America corps member)

The World Cup is now underway, with planned events around the Bay Area. Under the ethos of soccer as a “global language,” local soccer leagues in the Bay Area have been providing a rare sense of solace for new immigrant youth. 

This episode first published June 11, 2025


Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.

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