Building on the Pepsi®, Lay's®, Gatorade™ and
UEFA partnership, "Team of Champions" adds new program "Access for
Champions", to help guide students who are pursuing athletic
scholarships for college.
PURCHASE, N.Y., April 27,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo, Inc.
(NASDAQ:PEP) today announced that it has added 16 new
organizations to this year's "Team of Champions," a national
purpose platform that improves access to soccer in underserved
communities, including Black and Hispanic youth, across the U.S.
The $1 million commitment over three
years makes actionable investments on and off the field, including
helping the teams with apparel and equipment costs, field access,
mentoring, coaching and education, and fan experiences. In its
second year, in addition to expanding its reach to more
communities, "Team of Champions" will focus on recruiting more
young women athletes to the program.
![Team of Champions Team of Champions](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1805589/TOC_Hero_Image.jpg)
Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez, who continues to serve as "Team
Captain", will help raise the visibility of this year's lineup and
the impact these organizations have in local communities across the
country. "Last year, PepsiCo and I worked together to establish the
'Team of Champions' program and, together, have brought 9,000
athletes and coaches onto the field," said Chicharito. "In addition
to the physical benefits of playing soccer, bringing this beautiful
game into these communities teaches youth about teamwork,
problem-solving, and accountability. Participation in sports
overall enhances resilience and has been proven to boost
self-esteem. I'm excited to continue to deliver on our mission to
remove barriers to the game in underserved communities."
New to this year's "Team of Champions" program is "Access for
Champions," an opportunity for participating players to connect
with UEFA ambassadors. Through these inspirational events,
participants will have the chance to engage with athletes and
leaders, from both PepsiCo and in the soccer industry, to discuss
various topics ranging from creating a growth mindset to exploring
soccer as an industry. Additionally, for the second consecutive
year PepsiCo is partnering with ACCESS U, a non-profit dedicated to
mentoring players and their families throughout the college
recruiting process, to help guide students who are pursuing
athletic scholarships.
The "Team of Champions" is an important initiative part of
PepsiCo's Racial Equality Journey's community pillar, which in 2020
saw the company announce commitments of more than $570 million over five years to increase
representation within its workforce, and uplift Black and Hispanic
businesses and communities in the U.S. to address issues of
inequality and create opportunity.
"The 'Team of Champions' is symbolic of PepsiCo's commitment to
drive long-term change and address systemic barriers in these
underserved communities," said Antonio
Escalona, SVP & GM, Hispanic Business Unit, PepsiCo
Foods North America. "Soccer is the most popular sport in the
world, and the commitment made by our brands Lay's, Pepsi and
Gatorade through this program has had a measurable impact on
Hispanic-owned and Black-owned soccer clubs, programs and
businesses in the United
States."
This year's "Team of Champions" lineup is comprised of 16 local
organizations in cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami,
Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Tampa
Bay and Washington,
D.C.
"Last year, we leveraged our largest global platform – UEFA
Champions League – as a force for good, introducing the 'Team of
Champions' and breaking down barriers to the game in cities across
the country," said Esperanza
Teasdale, VP & GM, Hispanic Business Unit, PepsiCo
Beverages North America. "We saw an opportunity to help level the
playing field, and this year, we're focused on expanding our
support in more local communities – bolstering efforts to equalize
access for underserved youth, including a focus on increasing the
recruitment of young women athletes who have fewer opportunities to
play sports than young male athletes."
Building on the success of the 2021 program, PepsiCo has been
able to:
- Benefit more than 9,000 athletes and coaches in the first year
alone, including the provision of educational opportunities to
refine and optimize their leadership skills.
- Increase from 11 organizations in 2021 to 16 organizations in
this second year.
- Provide the opportunity for various teams to participate in
competitive tournaments. For example, The Spartan Wolves
(Inglewood, CA) sent all seven
teams to the California State Cup, a regional tournament that gives
players higher visibility to college scouts; and Future Soccer Club
(Lanham, MD) sent four teams to
the D.C. Cup, a prestigious East Coast College Showcase.
- Provide more than 540 athletes with new gear and safety
equipment.
- Offer student-athlete mentorship opportunities with highly
regarded athletes, team executives and soccer business
leaders.
- Unlock access to outdoor and indoor local facilities and
provide resources for field maintenance, including installing
lighting.
In the lead up to the 2021-2022 UEFA Champions League final,
PepsiCo will amplify stories from the 16 organizations, distributed
across broadcast, social and digital platforms, to provide more
visibility on the impact of each dollar donated.
Notes to Editors
The PepsiCo "Team of Champions" 2022
receiving funding this year includes:
- Club Soccer Centro (Houston,
TX): Club Soccer Centro is one of the largest Hispanic
soccer organizations in Houston,
TX. Founded in 2002, they have supported over 35,000 players
in the local community by keeping them busy on a field and off the
streets. Currently, they work with more than 500 kids aged 4-18 in
different soccer related programs.
- Cultures United FC (Seattle, WA): Cultures United FC offers
underprivileged young adults from diverse backgrounds a pathway to
athletic advancement while simultaneously empowering them to give
back to their community via free camps and clinics for youth.
- FCI Soccer Academy (Washington, D.C.): FCI Soccer Academy is a
non-profit organization with the purpose of getting the youth in
Prince George's County active and
to form a community of parents and children who are able to spend
time together.
- Football For Her (Los Angeles,
CA): Football For Her provides a safe and inclusive space
for girls to play football (some may know it as "soccer"), offering
mentorship and professional resources that may not otherwise be
available.
- JaHbat FC Premier (Chicago,
IL): A growing club, providing the opportunity to train and
compete at the highest level for youth soccer, ages 6-19 years old.
JaHbat currently has over 20 teams and more than 300 players.
JaHbat is an acronym which represents the cultural backgrounds of
each of the club's first players; Jamaica, Americas, Haiti, Belize, Asia/Africa,
and Trinidad.
- Kalonji Soccer Academy (Atlanta, GA): Kalonji Soccer Academy is all
about the kids, and the program run by Atlanta Youth Soccer
Foundation (AYSF), a not-for-profit 501c3 that offers programs for
children and adults. AYSF provides a safe, supportive, and caring
environment where all children regardless of their socio-economic
background can learn, play, and evolve their soccer skills.
- Little Haiti
(Miami, FL): Little Haiti FC
(LHFC) is the only free, not-for-profit start-up youth soccer club
in Florida. LHFC serves 175
children from a diverse population of underserved families
from the central Miami
neighborhood of Little Haiti and surrounding communities. In the
past seven years 100% of the children in the program graduated high
school and 80% went on to higher education.
- PureGame (Los Angeles,
CA): PureGame creates programming for children that
integrates a character education curriculum, leadership coaching,
and sport. PureGame introduces life skills, builds character
and helps children.
- RYSA Wimauma Warriors (Tampa
Bay, FL): An organization located in the city of
Wimauma that has been working and
supporting the local Hispanic community, made up mainly of migrant
workers who have emigrated from Latin American countries.
This program improves the quality of life in the local community
that shares a common love of soccer.
- Sol of the Cities (Minneapolis, MN): In a world of pay to play
athletics, where many communities are left out, Sol of the Cities
serve-to-play futsal league was created. Sol of the Cities has
developed a model that gives kids the opportunity to play
competitive futsal in a positive environment; that promotes giving
back to the community.
- South Bronx United (New York,
NY): South Bronx United is a 501c3 non-profit, youth
development organization that combines soccer with academic
enrichment, college prep, mentoring, and family services to engage
immigrant and first-generation youth and support the broader
South Bronx community.
- Texas Soccer Alliance (Dallas,
TX): Texas Soccer Alliance is a soccer club/academy serving
the North Fort Worth, Keller,
Saginaw and surrounding areas.
Their main focus is to provide full developmental support to all
players boys and girls, regardless of skill level in an effort to
prepare them for competition at any and every level.
- The 18th Ward (New Orleans,
LA): The 18th Ward was created to increase youth access to
sports by eliminating barriers to participation. They provide
high-quality programs and trained coaches to make sure kids have
fun and learn the foundational skills to feel successful in
sports.
- Union Jerez (Denver,
CO): Union Jerez is a youth academy built on a foundation to
help kids. We want to give an opportunity to kids to enjoy playing
soccer and help them pursue a collegiate career to better their
future.
- United Philly Soccer (Philadelphia, PA): United Philly's mission is
to create an all-inclusive pathway for players residing in
Philadelphia to participate in a
high quality and competitive soccer program up through their high
school years.
- Women in Soccer (New York,
NY): Women in Soccer (WIS) is a growing community of women
and allies united by the inclusive spirit of soccer coming together
in one digital hub. The WIS network is on a mission to connect and
support all women and marginalized individuals who love the
beautiful game, with a specific focus on making the soccer industry
a more equitable place to work.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by
consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200
countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more
than $79 billion in net revenue in
2021, driven by a complementary beverages and convenient foods
portfolio that includes Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade,
Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product
portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages,
including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail
sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in
Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with PepsiCo Positive
(pep+). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts
sustainability at the center of how we will create value and growth
by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive
change for the planet and people. For more information, visit
www.pepsico.com.
Press Contact: pepsicomediarelations@pepsico.com
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SOURCE PepsiCo, Inc.