In one way or another, we have all experienced the power of soccer. The Beautiful Game touches the lives of individuals around the world in different ways and with different results. For Orlando Pride midfielder Dani Weatherholt, it was important to help share the game of soccer with children around the world. So, during the offseason, she took a trip to Nicaragua with the organization Soccer Without Borders.
“I had gone on a trip to the Dominican Republic with Kids Alive and I couldn’t go on a trip in the offseason,” Weatherholt said. “So, Maddy Evans recommended that I go to Soccer Without Borders in Nicaragua.”
Soccer Without Borders is a non-profit organization that seeks to use soccer as a powerful tool for change. Going to areas of the country and the world that are under-privileged, they run soccer clinics for children that might not otherwise have access to soccer or other sports.
“It was a huge cultural exchange,” Weatherholt said, speaking about her time in Nicaragua. “We stayed with host families in the different barrios and every day we would wake up and go run different practices with the young girls in the community. It started out with like 40 or 50 girls and it just kept growing. They’ve been going down there for many years now. It’s really empowering to see how the young girls have taken on soccer in the community and how it’s really helped with their confidence, self-belief, and just allowing them to play.”
It is still not considered culturally acceptable for young girls to play soccer in much of Nicaragua. But Soccer Without Borders is helping change that conversation. According to Weatherholt, the talent in the nation is growing. Women’s soccer is growing more and more competitive as more girls get involved.
Soccer has the potential to lift the spirits of people in communities who struggle daily with extreme poverty. It also gives life skills to the young men and women that play it-- skills like working together as a team and believing in yourself. That’s the mission of an organization like Soccer Without Borders, and it’s something that could have a lasting impact on the community.
“You go there and you’re so different, you come from such a different place, and then you put a ball on the ground and you’re immediately best friends with someone,” Weatherholt said. “I think it breaks down so many different barriers and differences, and you get to be unified under the beautiful game of soccer.”
