February 12, 2020 

SAY Soccer, San Francisco Youth Soccer, Peninsula Soccer Referee Association 

Cincinnati, OH – SAY Soccer announced today that that it has been awarded a grant from U.S. Soccer under the Innovate to Grow Fund program. SAY Soccer is one of the 27 Federation members to share $2.4 million approved by U.S. Soccer’s Board of Directors 

“As a second-time recipient of an Innovate to Grow grant, SAY Soccer is grateful to U.S. Soccer for their continued commitment to improving grassroots soccer programming in communities around the country,” said Doug Wood, Executive Director of SAY Soccer.  

The grant is designed to grow the participation of soccer referees through a new, innovative program – Training Competent and Confident Youth Referees. SAY Soccer has partnered with San Francisco Youth Soccer and the Peninsula Soccer Referee Association to develop and hold week-long soccer referee training camps.  

“Managing a match is much more than knowing the rules of the game. Even with robust support programming in place, including weekly roundtables and on-field mentors, youth referee feedback is universal - they wish they’d had more practice and better preparation. Training referees over the course of a week will give them the confidence to competently referee right from their first match,” said Scotty Kober, Executive Director of San Francisco Youth Soccer.

Eight soccer referee training camps will be held over the next two years at multiple locations in Northern California.  The camps will include a train-the-trainer component so that referee instructors from other areas, including Fairbanks, AK, can expand the concept of youth soccer referee camps. 

About the U.S. Soccer Federation

For more than 100 years, the U.S. Soccer Federation’s mission statement has been to make soccer the preeminent sport in the United States and to continue the development of soccer at all recreational and competitive levels.  U.S. Soccer is the governing body of soccer in all its forms in the United States. 

About SAY Soccer 

The Soccer Association for Youth, USA (SAY Soccer) creates opportunities for children and adults to experience the game of soccer in a fun and safe environment. SAY Soccer operates in 34 states and Washington D.C., registering over 90,000 players and 24,000 head and assistant coaches annually.   SAY Soccer is a 501(c)(3) organization based in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

About San Francisco Youth Soccer 

San Francisco Youth Soccer (SFYS) is a comprehensive community soccer organization, serving nearly every neighborhood in San Francisco. The SFYS mission is to develop, promote, administer, and teach the game of soccer to youth in San Francisco.   SFYS is a 501(c)(3) organization and trains over 100 new youth referees annually. 

About PenSRA 

The Peninsula Soccer Referee Association (PenSRA) recruits, trains, mentors and assigns referees to over 15,000 grassroots matches annually. PenSRA gives referees, assignors, leagues and clubs a centralized location to coordinate referee assignments, training and expectations. PenSRA is a 501(c)(3) organization and serves US Club, US Youth Soccer Federation, American Youth Soccer Organization, SAY Soccer and the US Adult Soccer Association members on the San Francisco Peninsula..    

CONTACT Doug Wood, Executive Director, SAY Soccer [email protected]  800.233.7291