To us, soccer is not just a game in which a group of people kick a ball and try to score a goal. It’s a thread in the fabric of our lives. As such, it has a role and a responsibility in connecting us, energizing us, empowering us.
We take this very seriously. And strive to work with people and organizations that do, too.
Which is why we are thrilled to announce Goleadoras, a nonprofit that uses soccer to empower and support girls, as our charitable partner for 2019. We absolutely love their tagline #GirlsWithBalls, which truly embodies the message we will amplify throughout the 11th annual Kicking + Screening Soccer Film Festival New York, taking place from June 4 to June 7.
“Goleadoras embodies everything that is powerful about the game and the people who love it,” says Rachel Markus, K+S co-founder and co-organizer. “Their work to help girls achieve greater fitness, self-confidence and leadership skills through the teamwork and perseverance demanded by the beautiful game is compelling.”
"As a believer and full-on advocate of the power of sports, specifically soccer, and how that power could be used for social change, we are honored to have Goleadoras be a part of Kicking + Screening and raise awareness in our New York community," says Goleadoras founder Eglantina Zingg (pictured below). "K+S and the films and filmmakers they champion prove that the art of storytelling can truly make an impact. We can’t wait to seize this experience!"
Through the partnership, K+S will showcase Goleadoras and their projects during the K+S New York and throughout 2019. We will donate a portion of the proceeds from the festival to Goleadoras and encourage all festival-goers to support their efforts.
Goleadoras will support the festival through promotion and on-site activation, with a focus on Night 3, Thursday, June 6, when the film lineup emphasizes women in soccer and champions the theme “Against the Odds.” (See below for film lineup.)
As part of the partnership, Zingg will participate in the K+S speaker series on Night 3 and will sit on the film festival jury to determine the Golden Whistle Award winner, presented to the top feature film at K+S Soccer Film Festival New York.
NIGHT 3: Thursday, June 6
Coach
26 mins | USA + UK | 2019 | Directed by Matthew Ellison + Jordan Axelrod.
Coach follows Tracy Hamm, who currently leads the women’s soccer team at San Francisco State, in her quest to earn the internationally renowned UEFA A coaching license. Hamm turned to Europe after her efforts to pursue a top license from U.S. Soccer were obstructed by requirements that candidates seeking waivers to bypass lower certification levels must have played three years of professional soccer. When she graduated from college in 2006, no professional women’s league existed in the United States.
Coach is a Growth Through Sport production.
PLUS:
Yasmina
Short | US Premiere | Fifteen-year-old Yasmina passionately loves football and practices at the Saint-Étienne football club. But she is also a Moroccan who is in France without a visa, with her father and his French girlfriend. After she watches her father get arrested right as she returns from training one evening, she will have to make a decision that tests her love of the game. Directed by Claire Cahen & Ali Esmili.
Aim High
Short | US Premiere | Having consistently beaten the other girls’ teams, Lleida’s AEM girls’ football club decided to play with the boys. This documentary tells the story of what happened next. Directed by Rojo Rosenvinge + Sandra Bauera.
About Goleadoras
About Goleadoras
Goleadoras is a purpose-driven social enterprise leveraging the power of fútbol to transform the self-confidence, sense of solidarity, ambition, perseverance, and well-being of girls and women. The Goleadoras Project grows out of a ten-year-old US-based not-for-profit foundation Proyecto Paz, an organization dedicated to bringing soccer to underprivileged communities with the support of donors such as Corporacion Andina de Fomento, Direct TV, Tag Heuer, MTV and allies like the United Nations, Unidos en Red, Peace One Day.
For more information, visit Goleadoras.org.