Thursday night at the SFJAZZ Center, Beyond Sport will gather with leading figures in the soccer world such as Megan Rapinoe, Hope Solo, Quakes President Dave Kaval & more will take part in a discussion about how soccer can "
break down barriers, generate awareness, and affect sustainable and enduring change in communities worldwide." The event will also incorporate figures from the Bay Area's technology industry to discuss how their powerful tools can help provoke positive social change as well. We sat down with Adam Hall, Beyond Sport's Director of the Americas, about Beyond Sport as a whole, as well as goals for Thursday night's event. More information about Beyond Soccer can be found here.
SJEarthquakes.com: Tell us a little bit about Beyond Sport.
Adam Hall: Established in 2009, Beyond Sport is the leading global force in the convening of sport for social change. Through our three pillars: Convene, Support and Advise, we bring together influencers and innovators from sport, business, government and development to discuss how sport can address social issues and trigger positive change; the Beyond Sport Awards promote, support and reward the best projects across the globe and then our dedicated consultancy, thinkBeyond, helps organizations and people that do good, do it better.
SJEQ:
What past events, campaigns, etc. have you been involved with as it relates to soccer?
AH: In 2010, we launched Beyond Soccer powered by streetfootballworld, because we identified soccer’s powerful ability to unite people across the globe and help tackle prominent social issues. Our events are about bringing together key stakeholders who are using soccer as tool to drive social change, to connect them, share best practice
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nd provide insightful content. Since its inception we have hosted Beyond Soccer in London, Philadelphia, Cape Town, New York and now San Francisco. Each event addresses a specific theme; with this edition being hosted in the Bay
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rea we are looking at how tech and innovation can be applied in the soccer world to amplify the message of social change.
SJEQ:
What are you most proud of in your work - or your organization's work?
AH:
We work with the most incredible projects across all sports from around the globe; the work they achieve is phenomenal and I am humbled and extremely proud to be involved with what they do. Personally I turned my life around through sport so I am pleased to have the opportunity to use my experience to help others understand the power sport has to change lives. Professionally I am proudest of the work we achieve that has direct impact; for example we have built a number of sports courts in impoverished areas of Cape Town, Chicago, Philadelphia and London, that have provided communities with a safe sporting facility. I know these sports courts will make a huge difference and to be involved in making that happen is very fulfilling.
SJEQ:
What is the end goal of each event or campaign that you do?
AH:
There are a number of goals, the key one being to educate. Each event we want to be able to produce tangible outcomes that can be applied on the ground. The great thing about Beyond Sport is we work across multiple sports on a global scale so we really want to encourage sharing best practice – for example how can a skateboarding project in Afghanistan learn from a dance project in Harlem, how can a soccer project tackling obesity learn from a rugby project addressing gang violence – it’s this sort of collaboration and sharing of ideas that we aim to achieve.
SJEQ:
There are endless social issues to touch on. How do you approach each project that you work on differently?
AH:
We always consider where we are in the world as that determines a lot about the themes we address. It has to be relevant and current to the audience we engage with e.g. the Summit we hosted in Johannesburg focused on youth leadership as 65% of the African population are below the age of 35; in London the theme was ‘Beyond the Divide’ because we wanted to explore sports role in bridging cultural gaps in the wake of the refugee crisis. Here in the US we work with all the major leagues and we explore issues where they can give their unique insight; the last Beyond Sport United we held in October looked at the power of the athlete and how sport stars can play a significant role helping promote sport for development – it was hugely successful.
SJEQ:
What do you hope to accomplish with the partnership with the Quakes and your involvement in the Bay Area’s soccer and social conversation?
AH:
This is a big time for Soccer in the Bay
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rea with the Copa America Centenario, MLS All-Star Game and the International Champions Cup all coming to the region over the summer. We feel that with such a buzz around the sport it is a great time to promote and educate people on the role soccer can play off the pitch. The Quakes do some great community work, creating positive change for children and families with an emphasis in health and fitness; we want to promote their efforts and celebrate them as an example of what clubs can do to unite communities.
