(WSVN) – A South Florida group dedicated to helping kids live their soccer dreams scores a huge goal, thanks to an assist from a major South Florida hotel. 7’s Karen Hensel hits the pitch in today’s 7 Spotlight.
In South Florida, soccer is popular, but it is also expensive, and not every family can afford the cost for their kids to play.
Those are the players one group wants to recruit.
Gomez Laleau, president and founder of Little Haiti Football Club: “We serve everyone, whether if you can, whether if you cannot.”
For years, Gomez Laleau worked as a soccer coach at Miami Edison Senior High School.
He knew the sport kept his players focused while school was in session, but during the summer, many of them had nothing positive to do.
And it led to them making bad decisions.
Gomez Laleau: “There used to be a lot of crime, and the crime was rampant, and that’s one of the things. The dropout rate was also rampant.”
That led him to create the Little Haiti Football Club.
It operates like most soccer clubs in South Florida, where players compete against other teams.
While most players have to foot the cost that comes with joining a club, Little Haiti Football Club is free.
Gomez Laleau: “It was really, I would say, a great idea to bring something like that to a community which they don’t play nothing else but soccer. But they couldn’t play it because of lack of money.”
Many of the club’s players are from lower-income neighborhoods.
Lavi Francis has four children.
She wanted them to get involved in after-school activities, but she knew the cost would break the bank.
Lavi Francis: “For the girls, having them in ballet and tap, you know, that was real costly. And then now, the boys of age want to play sports, so, just trying to find something that was affordable, that was my main thing.”
While families don’t have to pay for their kids to play, the club covers the cost with donations from the community.
But oftentimes, it’s not enough, and that keeps the club from competing in big tournaments across the state.
Gomez Laleau: “You get discouraged when, for your kids to play tournament, they cannot. We cannot participate because of funds.”
Its story caught the interest of a popular South Florida hotel, and it decided to kick in some help.
Daniela Trovato, Four Seasons Surf Club: “And we like the fact that, you know, it was just, like, the perfect way to really, like, help within Miami.”
The Four Seasons Surf Club is right on the beach, but members of its staff will be spending a lot of time on the pitch.
The hotel formed a partnership with Little Haiti Football Club to provide financial backing to keep the club free for kids to join.
They celebrated the news with a big tournament, and the tournament is only the beginning.
Daniela Trovato: “But, for sure, support in the day to day, like uniforms and shoes, whatever they need, really.”
Gomez says the partnership has already paid off. He saw a change in the kids almost immediately.
Gomez Laleau: “Those kids that they’re practicing because they realize that there’s hope behind what they’re doing now. So this is powerful, this is huge.”
And it’s a huge score for a group of kids who can finally pursue their soccer dreams.
Karen Hensel, 7News.
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