ATLANTA, GA – The 2026 FIFA World Cup is finally here, and fans across North America are ready to cheer on their favorite teams.And many young soccer fans will get the chance to cheer on those teams while standing on the grandest stage itself.At every World Cup game, children between the ages of 6 and 10 will escort players onto the field before kickoff.It's a tradition that dates back to 2002, when UNICEF and FIFA partnered for the "Say Yes for Children" campaign.SCOTTISH FANS DRANK EVERY BEER ON FLIGHT TO U.S.AHEAD OF WORLD CUPThis year, FIFA's breakfast sponsor, but also the sponsor for the player escort program, is Quaker Oats. "Together, we teamed up with 30+ community organizations across 11 United States host cities to give 1,400 young people from underserved communities the chance to walk players onto the pitch," Quaker says in a press release.In Atlanta, that community organization chosen for all eight World Cup games, is Soccer in the Streets.
A nonprofit giving kids across the greater Atlanta area a chance to learn about soccer no matter their economic or social status. Soccer in the Streets is the official sponsor for player escorts at the World Cup games in Atlanta, GA.(Chelsea Torres)This year alone, 2,500 kids will benefit from Soccer in the Streets programs. "Access starts with making it free for all kids so that no one is, has a barrier of cost to playing this beautiful game," says Soccer in the Streets Executive Director Kaseem Ladipo.Ladipo says with a partnership with Common Goal, another national organization, their free inner-city soccer league, StationSoccer is the official player escort at the World Cup games in Atlanta. FIFA IMPLEMENTS MANDATORY WATER BREAKSUnder StationSoccer, each soccer field is conveniently located near six different train stations across Atlanta.
150 kids from the nonprofit Soccer in the Streets will get to escort players at all eight World Cup games at Atlanta Stadium.(Chelsea Torres)Ladipo says 150 of their...