For more than a month, the world has been focused on the FIFA World Cup, as millions tuned in to watch the games and cheer on their favorite teams. But a little more than a week before Spain ultimately won the finals, youth from the San Fernando Gardens housing development in Pacoima, often referred to as the “projects,” became champions themselves in a World Cup-inspired soccer tournament organized by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA).
The team of 15 kids, ranging from 8 to 13 years old, became the inaugural winners of the Youth World Cup on July 11, beating the team from Pico Gardens 10-4.
The young team members from San Fernando Gardens are Quincy Cajina, Salvador Cazeres, Javier Hernandez, Albert Lopez, Damian Maldonado, Cataleya Mederos, Penelope Meza, Damian Resendiz, Marcus Resendiz, Jacob Rodriguez, Ulysses Torres, Marcos Turcios, Alisa Vasquez, Gisselle Vasquez and Gregory Velez.
“I’m really happy and excited,” said Turcios, 10, who hadn’t traveled outside of the valley before joining the team. “[To be] celebrating with my friends, teammates and coaches, I’m really happy that we won the championship.”
Ten teams participated in this tournament, like the World Cup, each representing a different country selected at random; the San Fernando Gardens, the only team to come from the San Fernando Valley, represented Portugal. Ironically, the team they beat in the finals represented Spain – in the FIFA World Cup, it was Spain that knocked out Portugal.
The other teams also came from public housing communities, including Rancho San Pedro, Mar Vista Gardens in Southwest L, Estrada Courts in Boyle Heights and Nickerson Gardens in Watts.
The mini soccer tournament was meant not only to bring together kids and families living in these housing developments, but also to expose youth to institutions of higher learning. The first day of games was held on June 13 at Jesse Owens Stadium at California State University, LA, and the semifinals and finals were held at the Wallis Annenberg Stadium at the University of California, LA (UCLA). Before the final match, the players from both teams took a tour of the campus.
The games became a tribute to Eric Washington, HACLA’s community engagement manager, who was instrumental in organizing the Youth World Cup. He was tragically killed in a shooting during a Fourth of July celebration in Compton.
Xavier Landa was the volunteer coach for the kids at the San Fernando Gardens. He grew up in the Pacoima housing development, as his grandmother would look after him when he got out of school. His father, aunts and uncles were born and raised there.
Flyers advertising the Youth World Cup were first distributed around March for kids to sign up. After hearing from one of his aunts that no one had volunteered to coach them, Landa, who played soccer at the local park growing up, took the opportunity to do it himself.
“For half the team, it was the first [soccer] team they had ever joined, and they never really had the chance to … because [the sport] is very much about money now,” Landa said. “A lot of parents don’t really have the time or money to put their kids on teams that participate in these leagues.
“[Fortunately], everything was completely free,” he continued. “The kids had so much fun with this. … Seeing the uniforms with their names on the back, … they were very happy every day. There was never a bad day for them.”
After the team’s victory, Landa held a party at his Mission Hills home for the kids and their parents. For all of them, winning the Youth World Cup still hasn’t worn off.
Lopez, 12, said, “It was really fun and competitive, [but] we made it to the end and won.” He said it all felt special and a great experience to tour UCLA. “I’m really happy that me and my friends were able to win it all,” Lopez said.
His teammate Torres added that the team worked hard to make it to the finals, including a tough match against Mar Vista Gardens in the semifinals.
“It felt good [to win],” Torres said. “We all came from the projects, and we made it.”