SBU soccer program awarded in Berlin for stellar program
BY KYLE VUILLE
What was once just a Bronx
middle school teacher’s farfetched
idea 11 years ago has
become a worldly renowned
sports program.
South Bronx United executive
director Andrew So
joined by two of the program’s
success stories, 20-year-olds
Mohamed Konate and Maria
Martinez traveled to Berlin,
Germany to receive the 2020
Sport for Good Award by Laureus
World Sports Academy.
The youth program was
awarded for its work in underserved
neighborhoods by engaging
at-risk and immigrant
children in the world’s oldest
and most popular sport.
Andrew So, SBU executive
director, co-founded South
Bronx United in 2009 while he
was teaching math and English
at a middle school in Morrisania.
After realizing the
lack of after-school programs,
his love for soccer and realizing
the worldliness of soccer
clicked to form SBU.
“If not for the after school
program, they’d be in the
streets or going home to play
video games,” So said.
Stephanie and Andrew So (outside left and right) stand on the red carpet with Maria Martinez and Mohamed
Konate in Berlin to accept the 2020 Laureus Sport for Good Award. Stephanie and Andrew So are co-founders of
South Bronx United. Martinez and Konate are success stories of the soccer and academic program and served
as ambassadors for SBU in Berlin. Photo Photo courtesy of SBU
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According to So, the program
started with a squad of
16 young teenage boys. The
program now serves approximately
1,200 boys and girls.
The Laureus World Sports
Academy awarded SBU with
the Sport for Good Award at
their 20th annual award ceremony
based on the merit
that SBU has used sport to
“reduce the impact of violence,
confl ict and discrimination,
to enhance social and
emotional development, to inspire
healthy behavior change
and to increase educational
achievements and employability
skills.”
SBU does that, not only by
boosting students’ confi dences
on the fi eld, but helps the students
in the classroom.
As a part of the SBU program,
students are required
to attend ‘academic enrichment’
sessions two afternoons
a week, where they receive tutoring
in math, English, science
or participate in SAT
testing prep.
Martinez has been a part
of the SBU program since she
was 12 and one of the players
who accompanied So in Berlin
to accept the award.
“One of the greatest gifts
SBU has provided to me is the
ability to wake up every morning
with a new goal and make
an effort to be the best person I
can be,” Martinez said.
Martinez, originally from
Mexico, said SBU has even
helped her and her family in
the Permanent Residence Card
process, which has enabled
her to see family in Mexico,
attend a service trip to Costa
Rica and attend the award ceremony
in Germany.
“Throughout the years
SBU has not only provided
emotional support and been
like a family to me,” Martinez
said. “But they are helping me
graduate from high school and
attend college.”
Martinez said feeling a
greater sense of service in
herself and experiencing the
press conferences were the
highlights of her trip to Germany.
Martinez’s plans for the
future include continuing
her soccer career into college
with dreams of becoming professional
one day and creating
a non-profi t focused on animal
care and soccer. She added she
wants to become a role model
for younger girls.
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