District Sports Impact Report

Stories

Tony Francavilla

DC SCOR3S

Chief Revenue Officer, DC SCORES

DCPL: FBC

When it comes to talking about District Sports’ impact, I’m not sure if I’m the most biased messenger, the most qualified, or both. I met my wife through District Sports, and some of my most valued friendships are with teammates. I spend about five hours a week on District Sports fields, and a big chunk of the remainder hobbling around civilian life reflecting on plays from the last game—more bad than good these days, it should be said. I also share an office with District Sports through my work with DC SCORES.

It’s that latter bit that really sets the organization apart for me. District Sports is unique among its peer organizations in commitment to community. I see this through their support of DC SCORES in a number of ways: sponsorship of the DC SCORES team at Garrison ES, pro bono operations support for our major events, and fundraiser tournaments throughout the year. Beyond DC SCORES, District Sports makes an effort to connect with the schools where they play to understand their needs and fill in where they can: an extra school nurse, transportation for senior trips, new goals, more. Above all, there’s a real commitment to learning and to creating genuine connections between players and the schools and communities where they play.

Manu Reinert

DCPL: DC Cheddar

Having been on the field since DCPL kicked off back in 2017, it's incredible to see how far we've come. I've witnessed firsthand the marked improvement in the quality of the teams, competition level, officiating, and overall organization of matches.

I've been fortunate to play for DC Cheddar from day one, a team that has become like family: we've had our share of memorable games, winning a couple of league titles and making it to the final twice. But we're just one part of the great tapestry that is DCPL, as each team brings something unique to the pitch, creating a vibrant and diverse league.

District Sport put their heart into creating a very competitive league but they never lost sight of the fun, camaraderie, and sense of community that should make up amateur soccer. I've seen them maintain this delicate balance for the past 6 years and I'm truly grateful for their work.

Saede Eifrig

DCPL: GOATS ‘91

I have been a DCPL player on GOATS '91 for two seasons and am already a co-captain! I love playing in the DCPL because I get the chance to play with some of my former college teammates, along with many other talented players in various stages of their soccer journey. I joined the league to play full regulation style games again and to dedicate time each weekend to 'Soccer Saturdays.' Since joining, my parents have had the chance to watch one of my games, which is the first time they've seen me play since my junior year of college!

District Sports is a not-for-profit organization founded nearly 20 years ago to connect D.C. residents through soccer. We have served tens of thousands of people with games and events all-year-long across all four quadrants of D.C.

Alex Bearman

Executive Director

Letter from the Director

In 2022, after a difficult period due to the Covid-19 pandemic, District Sports firmly re-established itself as a leader in the local soccer community. With the valuable support of the thousands of players who participated in our leagues, tournaments and events we achieved our goal of connecting DC through soccer. Many thanks to the various community partners who continue to assist us in creating local impact here in our city. Please take a moment to learn a bit more about what we’ve been up to and see you on the field!

The largest adult soccer league in DC Metropolitan Area

District Sports has been a consistent part of the social fabric of Washington, D.C. for nearly 20 years. In that time, we have served tens of thousands of people thousands of people with games and events all-year-long across all four quadrants of D.C. Results from a recent survey of participants show that people feel more connected to their city because of participation in our leagues and credit District Sports with helping them develop more meaningful friendships and social networks.

2023 STATS

Seye IWARERE

District Sports Player

I generally play in 3 different leagues each season. While people speak of anxiety about Mondays or how they hate hump day, I always looked forward to those days because I knew I’d have a soccer game in the evenings.

In playing against the same teams 3 to 4 times a year our team has created fun, competitive rivalries. It’s also always fun to run into people while out doing social activities - certainly that wouldn’t be possible if we weren’t linked through District Sports.

During Covid, much of my soccer activity stopped - a huge downside of the pandemic for me. Toward the end of summer 2020, I played in some pick up games here and there, but I missed the organized nature of playing on a team and the community aspect of District Sports.

Life looks a lot different post-covid. I’ve moved out of DC proper and now have three kids under the age of 3. I still remain consistent with District Sports 3 times and thoroughly enjoy It. It’s a priority for me and I appreciate it so much.

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our impact

^$80,000 raised for
Local Community Partners

Over 8,000 adults participate in District Sports’ activities each year. After covering costs associated with running its core programs (i.e. facility rental, staffing) District Sports invests directly in creating opportunities for local youth to play. In 2022, District Sports donated over $80K to organizations such as DC SCORES, Open Goal Project, and the DC Public Schools. District Sports is committed to supporting the communities in which it operates.

Pankaj Rayamajhi

Director of Strategy & Logistics, Columbia Heights Education Campus

District Sports have been crucial partners with Columbia Heights Educational Campus (Bell & Lincoln) since 2014. Over the years, they have been consistently providing invaluable service to our community by ways of charitable contributions, which have all gone towards development of sports enrichment activities, facilities upkeep and purchases of much needed sporting goods. We are extremely appreciative of all their support and would encourage all DC Public schools to find ways to collaborate with District Sports.

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$600,000 reinvested in DC Public Schools Field Spaces via facility rentals

Beneficiaries

Navigating

2020

Going Virtual

In March 2020, just like many of the activities and outlets we all rely on for fun and connection, District Sports paused its leagues and activities. At that moment our attention turned not only to sustaining ourselves, but also supporting our community at large. Along with launching novel socially distant programming, like soccer-tennis leagues and FIFA e-tournaments, we organized a virtual charitable fitness challenge, with a culinary twist, called “Dash and Dine for DC.”

In collaboration with local community fitness group, the November Project, participants joined the challenge by donating to a local service organization -receiving prizes of food items from local businesses when they completed challenges.

Extra Time Campaign

The only option was to turn to our community for support. With a fundraising goal of $20,000 we launched our Extra Time Campaign. Amazingly, District Sports members helped us shatter our goal in less than one day, ultimately providing up a lifeline of nearly $75,000.

The effort raised thousands of dollars for essential local non-profit organizations. As the Pandemic lockdowns remained in place and our programs on hold, concerns for our own financial solvency grew. Staff, some of whom had been committed to District Sports for upwards of 10 years, relied on the organization for their livelihood and we knew we wanted to be available to our players when conditions allowed.

Lauren Smith

District Sports Player

District Sports is about more than soccer to me--it's a thriving community within DC and makes me feel at home. [...] I really think District Sports is one of its kind in being a nonprofit, community-based, local organization: we are so lucky to have them in DC!

District Sports is about more than soccer to me--it's a thriving community within DC and makes me feel at home. While I am incredibly lucky to still be playing the sport I love into my 30s, District Sports' other activities, such as happy hours, DC United/Washington Spirit game meet-ups, and DC SCORES partnerships are what keep me coming back. I've met so many amazing people through District Sports, some of whom are my closest friends in the city. When I tell friends outside of DC about it, they are jealous--I really think District Sports is one of its kind in being a nonprofit, community-based, local organization: we are so lucky to have them in DC!

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