BSTM
September 2008 - Vol. 9
Beijing Olympics Photo Gallery: Cullen Jones, U.S.A. Venus & Serena Williams, U.S.A. Usain Bolt, Jamaica Dayron Robles, Cuba David Oliver, U.S.A.
Cullen Jones
Howard University
Bryan Clay, U.S.A. Veronica Campbell-Bell, Jamaica
Olympic Legends & Trailblazers Jesse Owens One of Track and Field’s Greatest Athletes
Black New York Renaissance (The Rens) Pro Basketball’s First Universally Recognized National Champion
Michael Phelps
Manny Pacquiao
The 1st Recordholder Filipino and of the Most Asian Boxer to Gold Medals Won At a Single Olympics Win Four WorldTitles
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Leveling the Playing Field In Soccer “Concrete 2 Green opens up a whole new world to the urban community” By Jameka S. Whitten The face of American soccer is rapidly evolving. Gone are the days when suburban soccer moms ruled and the game was synonymous with elitism. The soccer community is much more economically, culturally and racially inclusive than media portrayals of the game. Urban is no longer a dirty word, and street soccer is taking up residence in America, just as it has done in every other crevice of the globe. “The beautiful game” is creeping into the American urban landscape in a major way—and Concrete 2 Green (C2G), a grassroots organization headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is at the root of this resurgence. Not only is soccer cool, but C2G is cementing true urban street soccer as the next big thing in American sports culture. What is Concrete 2 Green? As the brainchild of co-founders Akbar Majeed and Irvine Smalls, Jr., C2G will revolutionize how soccer is played and become the driving force behind popularizing the urban soccer movement in the United States. In a society where perception is everything, at first glance, this may not prove to be an easy task. However, Majeed and Smalls maintain that they are up for the challenge. “With the world’s largest sporting event being held in South Africa [2010 and for the first time on the continent of Africa] and Brazil [in 2014] and the focus of soccer shifting to the urban community in the United States,” Smalls explains, “it gives us an opportunity to have an ownership stake in a movement and be more than consumers and commodities, like we have been in so many other areas.” C2G will go into underserved, urban inner city communities to build and develop facilities for freestyle street soccer, known internationally as “futsal.” Futsal is played throughout the world and is as popular and recognizable as a neighborhood pickup game of basketball in the U.S. Many of today’s most popular names in soccer (like Ronaldinho) got their start playing 22
Photo provided by C2G
Co-Founders Irvine Smalls, Jr. and Akbar Majeed futsal. As part of C2G’s “Green Top rebirth of soccer in order to level the playing Initiative,” the company will transform field in myriad ways. This initiative will decaying fields, abandoned basketball, provide more than the opportunity to learn handball, tennis courts and otherwise about the game, it will provide positive unused/underutilized locales into safe, community involvement, encourage green, eco-friendly play areas, where street athletic activity and provide the opportunity soccer can be enjoyed by participants and to learn about different cultures, thus spectators alike. These fields will provide opening up a whole new world. Soccer is an alternative recreational athletic outlet, a game that is able to transcend issues without displacing other popular sports. of race, class and gender that will unite In addition to These milieus will serve as a central hub instead of divide. for community, culture and creativity, thus encouraging street soccer in urban allowing urban America to do what it has communities, C2G will support “green” always done—be the trendsetter for initiatives in the inner city, thus promoting cultural expression for the rest of the healthier living while addressing nation and the world to admire, revere and environmental concerns. ultimately emulate. It’s Not Just A Game…It’s a Movement C2G is about accessibility, stimulating an inclusive climate where youth (particularly Majeed and Smalls wholly accept their those of African, African American and calling as the architects of this new urban Latino descent) from traditionally movement. Just like skateboarding neglected communities are given the catapulted into a culture all its own by same opportunities as their upwardly reinventing itself in the early to mid-’90s, mobile suburban counterparts. The expect no less from the emergence of the perception in the United States that soccer urban street soccer movement. All the is a “white suburban” game is inaccurate elements are in place, the attitude, the art, and misleading. C2G will orchestrate the the music, the clothing, the game, all BSTM
September 2008
“The timing is great for Concrete 2 Green because of the unfortunate negative exposure basketball and football have received and with the decline of participation of urban communities in baseball, people are looking for alternatives for our youth,” says Majeed. “C2G and futsal/street soccer is ideal. It addresses major issues of field space and accessibility to the urban community, plus it has been the game of choice for similar communities around the world [Brazil, Argentina, and various African countries], who have and continue to produce some of the sports best players.” Majeed has more than ten years experience working with at-risk youth in urban and disadvantaged communities. With both his bachelors and masters degrees in social work with a concentration in social economic development from North Carolina A&T State University and the University of
Pennsylvania respectively, the Concrete 2 Green initiative was a perfect next step for him. Majeed, a North Carolina native, has been an entrepreneur since 1998, working in the sports and entertainment event marketing and planning industry. In 2006, he launched RISE SPORT, a lifestyle apparel line, inspired by the urban culture of soccer; thus providing the official uniform for this new movement. Majeed developed a love for the game early and is ready for soccer’s rebirth. Smalls is the current Executive Director of FC Harlem (Harlem Youth Soccer), which is a New York-based non-profit recreational soccer league catering to boys and girls living in Harlem and the South Bronx. Under his leadership, FC Harlem has been the recipient of national press coverage and highly successful fundraising efforts. Smalls is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and Dickinson Law School. He worked in the Business and Legal Affairs Department for Major League Soccer (MLS) prior to
joining FC Harlem. This experience enabled Smalls to gain extensive knowledge of the soccer industry, as well as valuable contacts within MLS. Smalls received numerous accolades from his own undergraduate college football career, so he has a firm commitment to and understanding of how athletics can indeed make a significant impact in a child’s quality of life— especially those youth who live in at-risk communities. “Outside of the obvious reasons why sports are good for youth, particularly inner city youth, our organization allows us to expose and attach them to the global community,” Smalls explains. “This will broaden their experiences, and let them see that there are opportunities beyond their neighborhoods and the borders of the U.S.” To learn more about Concrete 2 Green, visit their website at www.concrete2green.com. To contact Concrete 2 Green, send an email to akbar@concrete2green.com.
Concrete 2 Green
BSTM
September 2008
Photo provided by C2G
seamlessly weaved together and poised to make a tremendous impact.
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