Chelsea FC teamed up with strategic design firm Designit, Wipro Digital, and the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem to develop a digital design workshop for the FC Harlem Lions team. The team spent the morning in the classroom collaborating with visual designers, service designers, developers and Chelsea coaches to define concepts, ideate the elements of the design, and finally, to code players’ individual templates.

The FC Harlem players then took to the field to take part in a number of tests designed and measured by the CFC coaches to determine their key stats, to then be inputted into each of the players cards.

It was a great opportunity for the kids to get hands-on experience in design, coding, and to be exposed to the messy but rewarding process of creative collaboration!

The upshot is an individualized digital calling card for each participant. The cards, which can be seen below, are inspired by traditional trading cards, can be showcased on digital resumes, college apps, and more. The ownership the team took over their designs was an inspiring reminder about how powerful strategic design collaborations can be. Go, Lions!

2016 CJSL NEW YORK CITY U17 A DIVISION CHAMPIONS

Sunday June 26 (Bronx, NY) – As Argentina and Chile prepared to play in the final of the 100th Anniversary of Copa America (South America’s oldest and most prestigious football tournament) at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the FC HARLEM LIONS on its 25th anniversary of existence prepared for the its first ever NYC championship match in the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL) U17 A Division. The CJSL is the oldest soccer league in NYC predating the formation of the US Soccer Federation. It is comprised of youth teams ages 10 -19 from all five boroughs. On this hot Sunday morning outside of the historic Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, the LIONS prepared to face off against its rival and one of the stronger clubs in the league: South Bronx United an affiliate of Major League Soccer’s New York City Football Club (NYCFC).

The teams met in the season opener with FC Harlem coming back from a 2-1 halftime deficit to win 4-2. Both clubs are unique in NYC in that they focus on serving minority and immigrant youth and provide a social mission of using soccer and enrichment programs to put participants on a pathways on success. Many of the players from both clubs are friends, live in the same neighborhoods or attend the same schools. Both teams finished the season even on points and with an 8-2-0 record.

The match started off as a tough defensive battle. FC Harlem opened the scoring with a goal by Felipe Mejia in the 25th minute and then he doubled the advantage in the 32’ minute. South Bronx pulled one back before halftime. During the second half both teams were on the attack but South Bronx was pushing deeper into FC Harlem’s backline. South Bronx tied it up 2-2 on what was an absolutely amazing corner kick that sailed untouched in the top left hand corner! Around the 80th minute FC Harlem’s Ibrahim Daraja broke the tie with a nice run at goal making it 3-2. The LIONS defense stayed strong under each wave of attack from South Bronx United. When the final whistle blew, history was made as FC Harlem brought home its first ever trophy to the club but most importantly to the Harlem community.

“I am very proud of my guys. They worked hard all season. We told them that if they stayed discipline they could win.” said Head Coach Anders Khan who has been working with the U17/U18 teams for the last 5 years at FC Harlem. Irv Smalls, Executive Director of FC Harlem praised Coach Anders and all the supporting coaches and staff. “We are a small knit group here but we have committed coaches who all kick in to support our young men.” Irv also praised the LIONS partnership with Chelsea Football Club, FC Harlem’s Official Football Development Partner. “Our partnership with Chelsea FC has positively impacted the performance on this year’s team. Chelsea FC Foundation coaches have led training sessions since November 2015, offering player assessments and knowledge sharing with our coaches on many aspects of football development. As our partnership continues to grow I am confident that we continue to improve our performance on the pitch.”

Irv elaborated on the role of  programs like FC Harlem on professional soccer in the US “We believe that youth from the inner cities can have a positive impact on the growth of the professional game here in the United States. Programs like ours show what the impact can be when  we get  access to resources to develop the individual on and off the field. I think it is a matter of time when we will have a LION participant playing in MLS and the US National Team. ” 

“We want to thank our partners, supporters, volunteers, Board of Directors and all our sponsors for their role in helping our team achieve this major milestone in our club’s history. We look forward to creating a legacy of soccer excellence here in Harlem!”

Chelsea FC: Foundation coaches head to Harlem

Coaches from the Chelsea Foundation will fly out to New York this week to assist our partner club FC Harlem with a variety of coaching projects and outreach programmes.

FC Harlem and the Foundation have been officially working in partnership to develop community initiatives for young people in New York since July 2013, while our coaches first held sessions for local young players during the summer tour to the United States a year earlier.

This month’s visit will see the Foundation coaches assisting with FC Harlem’s annual trials for their Under-15 and Under-17 Young L.I.O.N.S (Leaders In Our Neighbourhoods) teams as well as working with younger players at the club aged 6-12.

Away from FC Harlem directly, our coaches will also visit local schools within the community and put on a session for New York children’s charity The Children’s Aid Society.

Chelsea Foundation international technical support officer Andy Ottley, who has been visiting FC Harlem since the partnership began, said: ‘It is great to be going back and helping out with selection for their teams.

“The LIONS concept is a fantastic one with the selected players also committed to doing work in the community and this year they have extended it and included an Under-17 side so the project is continuing to grow.”

“We are always well received in Harlem by the players, parents, schools and those involved with Children’s Aid so it is a pleasure to be returning and continuing to make a difference.”

Ottley last visited Harlem in July and he was joined by some famous faces from the Chelsea first team including Diego Costa, Oscar and Eden Hazard.

The players were in town to celebrate both the launch of our kits for the 2015/16 season and a project to make a major addition to Harlem’s soccer infrastructure with adidas and the Chelsea Foundation inviting teenage players, both boys and girls, onto a specially constructed blue pitch court to exhibit their skills in a 2v2 knockout contest.

“Having the players visit in the summer was huge,’ added Ottley. ‘They had been before but we have new players now so showing the ties to the club as well as the Foundation is another way to inspire the kids and the coaches who we work so hard with.”

“I think the standard impressed the players! A current FC Harlem player was a winner of the 2v2 contest, so the coaches must be allowing the players to express themselves in the right way.”

“This is a project the club and the Foundation are committed to for the long term and hopefully the players witnessed that and enjoyed seeing what we have been doing for the past few years in Harlem.”

CHELSEA FC DEDICATES “BLUE PITCH” SITE FOR FC HARLEM TRAINING GROUND

Written By: isps |Jul 22, 2015

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Chelsea Football Club executives, manager and first team players stood alongside representatives from affiliate club, FC Harlem, to announce the launch of an iconic new Blue Pitch training facility in Harlem that will serve as a revolutionary, year-round community hub for local youth soccer players.

Representatives from Chelsea FC and FC Harlem were joined at the dedication by partners Chase, Yokohama Tire, Delta Air Lines and adidas.

The relationship between the two clubs began in July 2012 when the Chelsea FC Foundation ran a clinic for members of FC Harlem as part of the club’s visit to New York.

Since that initial event, the relationship between the organizations has continued to grow, with Chelsea Foundation coaches making regular visits to FC Harlem to educate and inspire a new generation of local coaches.

The Blue Pitch training facility will form part of Chelsea FC’s “Here to Play, Here to Stay” philosophy – the club’s initiative to make a long-term commitment to the development of football at the grassroots level in the places we visit, leaving a long-standing legacy in those countries. Site highlights include:

• The new state-of-the-art, permanent community soccer facility will be New York’s first covered soccer facility and will be floodlit, enabling year-round use and for longer hours each day
• Working with state and city authorities, FC Harlem identified a site which would allow for complete regeneration of a plot of land to the west side of Harlem
• The site, located at Riverside Drive and 145th Street underneath the Henry Hudson Highway, will be an anchor venue to support FC Harlem and other community programs year-round

Construction work on the $3 million facility is due to begin in early 2016, with the ambition of creating a world class inner-city soccer program that will become the blueprint for further community facilities across the United States.

Blues Show the Way in Harlem

Chelsea players including Petr Cech, Demba Ba and David Luiz joined Foundation coaches and youngsters from local club FC Harlem for a coaching clinic in New York on Friday. Also attending were Nathan Ake, Jamal Blackman, Andreas Christensen and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, at the facility in west Harlem visited by former Blue Graeme Le Saux on our tour last summer.

The pitch, an artificial surface suitable for small-sided games which is located near the Hudson River and below one of this part of Manhattan’s iconic, raised railway lines, was converted from a parking lot, and is one of two FC Harlem use. Their executive director Irv Smalls was delighted to welcome Chelsea stars to the coaching clinic.

“Today was an amazing day with Chelsea Football Club here, ”he said. “We wanted to see how we could use football to have a positive effect on the community.”

“Having a club like Chelsea here, having the players and the coaches, is really important because it helps the children feel a part of something big. This is our training field to develop kids, not just on the field but off it as well. We do enrichment programmes which focus on academic support, leadership skills, career development and all-round healthy living. “

“ Having a top club like Chelsea come here and showing those values helps cement things in the minds of the children. “

Cech, who like his team-mates spent time playing games and signing autographs with the 25 kids, spoke of his pride to be involved in the visit.

“We are all delighted to come and meet kids at a fantastic project like this,” he said. “The club takes very serious our work in the community and it is an important part of when we travel to different parts of the world. FC Harlem helps bring the spirit of football into this community which is great.“

Originally founded in 1990 as Harlem Youth Soccer Association (HYSA), the FC Harlem program offers kids a safe place to play the beautiful game, right in the heart of Harlem. More than 1,000 children participate annually in after-school soccer programmes, beginner clinics and competitive travel teams.

Chelsea continues to build upon our ‘Here to Play, Here to Stay’ ethos by leaving lasting legacies in places we visit.

All year round we are active in the US via our Super Clubs programmes in Baltimore, Phoenix, Dallas and Atlanta, and we look forward to continuing our work with FC Harlem in New York.

Article from www.chelseafc.com

HARLEM BLUES

The size of crowds Chelsea draw to our games in the United States is one indicator of the increasing popularity of football in the country, but just as significant is the emergence of specialist community pitches exclusively for the sport in neighbourhoods like New York’s Harlem district.

It was at just such a location that Chelsea Foundation coaches, in conjunction with our global charity partner Right To Play, held sessions for 15 to 17-year-olds from FC Harlem, a youth development programme that uses the power of football to have a positive impact on kids and communities.

The facility, an artificial surface suitable for small-sided games which is located near the Hudson River and below one of this part of Manhattan’s iconic, raised railway lines, is one of two FC Harlem use. The other is in central Harlem but it was on the west Harlem site that Chelsea ambassador Graeme Le Saux joined the Foundation coaches for the training and a question and answer session at the end.

‘It is a wonderful community pitch here in the heart of the city and it brings the spirit of football into the communities, and the coaching they are receiving they are really excited about,’ said Le Saux.

‘They asked some really good questions as well. They look at someone who has been in the game and wonder what they can do to have a chance. They obviously play a lot and even if they don’t carry on playing the game in later life they are learning some good life principles.’

Right To Play have a long-standing involvement with FC Harlem which was started by Irv Smalls back in 2006.

‘We had 136 kids in total then and now with different partnerships we have over 1000,’ he told the official Chelsea website.

‘It is all about getting the message out and letting people know we are here. Lot of parents and children are trying different things and there is a community with a large, diverse immigrant background here that already has knowledge of the sport.

‘There are plenty of teams in the New York area to compete against and we also have enrichment activities that focus on healthy lifestyles, developing leaders and homework help.

‘We have talented coaches but when Chelsea come in they teach our kids and our coaches and that is the great thing. We are not saying there is the next Pele here but it is a great way to get the kids introduced to the global game.’

Ian Woodroffe, the Foundation’s international development manager, said: ‘It has been a fantastic experience to come down and work with these guys and it is great that people had the foresight to look beyond what is already there in the community and squeeze a pitch in.

‘The boys have been responding to the opportunity to experience our coaching. We’ve been busy but busy is good. We love to interact and we are here to work with as many people as we can.’

In addition to the work in Harlem, while in New York Chelsea’s Foundation coaches also ran session at Long Island University in conjunction with Samsung. All year round Chelsea are active in the States via our Super Clubs programme.

FC Harlem opens youth training field with Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez

It was an exciting day and a huge honor to take part in the unveiling of FC Harlem’s new soccer field yesterday in Riverside Park. The event was filled with a fervent group of kids that got the opportunity to participate in a coaching session directed by the New York Red Bulls. The professional players, Thierry Henry and Rafael Márquez, demonstrated how school subjects such as math also come in handy while playing soccer.  Angles and strategies are important aspects of the game.  It’s amazing what children can learn from soccer. Lessons that I learned from soccer are ones that I have used throughout my life.

Irv Smalls, Executive Director of FC Harlem said it perfectly when he stated, “This field will allow sports to have a positive influence on the upcoming generation.” It’s inspiring to see that an empty parking lot has been turned into a place for the kids and the community of Harlem to use as a powerful vehicle for social change. This field provides children with a chance to play and creates chances and opportunities to learn and grow from the game of soccer.

This event truly gave back to the community and it was rewarding to see how revitalizing this soccer field has a positive effect. When it comes down to putting something like this together one must have passion and vision, which Irv Smalls certainly possesses. Now parents have a safe place and an incredible organization to help inspire and empower their children. At the end of the ceremony, a male and a female participant were chosen to kick off the start of this new field. One of the kickers, Sydney Ashton said, “It felt really great kicking the soccer ball. It was nice. It was an exciting day.”

I have my restaurant Red Rooster here in Harlem and everything that it took to build that establishment correlates with things that I learned on the soccer field: You have to be a teammate, you have to work very hard, you have to listen to your coach, and it’s with the same drive that I obtained from soccer that I have put towards my cooking career. The advice that my coach gave me all those years ago while playing the sport has made me a better chef today. The parents and kids are in great hands with an organization like FC Harlem.

I expressed to the children who participated in yesterday’s event that eating healthy and making good food choices, such as munching on enough vegetables and eating only a small amount of fried food are key for good eating and athleticism. I encouraged parents to use fresh ingredients and to think about healthy snack options before sending their kids to play soccer. At Red Rooster, we will soon offer kids in the community free cooking classes to teach them about the importance of using fresh and healthy ingredients. I was thankful to be invited to this event because it was a great day for everyone here in Harlem and I thoroughly enjoy supporting anything that is related to benefiting the youth.  When we come together as a community, we can create something really beautiful.