Atlanta Nonprofit Sends 150 Children Onto World Cup Pitch as Player Escorts
One hundred fifty children from Atlanta-based nonprofit Soccer in the Streets will walk alongside players at all eight 2026 FIFA World Cup matches held at Atlanta Stadium, taking part in a pre-match escort tradition that has been a fixture of the tournament since 2002. The children, aged between 6 and 10, are drawn from the organization's StationSoccer program, a free inner-city league that positions its fields near transit stations across the greater Atlanta area to reduce access barriers for youth from underserved communities.
The player escort program is sponsored this cycle by Quaker Oats, the tournament's breakfast sponsor, which partnered with more than 30 community organizations across the 11 United States host cities to select 1,400 participants nationally, according to a company press release. In Atlanta, Soccer in the Streets was designated as the sole community partner for the program across all eight local fixtures. The nonprofit's executive director, Kaseem Ladipo, said the organization operates in partnership with Common Goal and serves 2,500 children annually through its programs. "Access starts with making it free for all kids so that no one has a barrier of cost to playing this beautiful game," Ladipo said.
The escort tradition was established at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan through a partnership between FIFA and UNICEF tied to the "Say Yes for Children" campaign. It has continued at every subsequent tournament, giving young participants direct contact with the world's top international players on the match day pitch.
Among the 150 selected participants are two brothers from the program's West End location - Asun, 8, and Asir, 10 - who were chosen to escort players at the South Africa versus Czechia group-stage match on June 18 at Atlanta Stadium. The pair were first selected to attend a nutrition-focused event hosted by the tournament's breakfast sponsor before being named among the escorts. Their mother, Erica Holloman-Hill, said her four sons joined StationSoccer two years ago and that the program has broadened the family's engagement with the sport in ways she did not anticipate. Asir said the experience has occupied his thoughts constantly. "I think about it in my sleep, too," he said.
