During the fall of 1997, Keith Tucker, head soccer coach at Howard
University assembled a group of his former players to discuss an alarming trend
in college admissions’ for minority high school soccer players – their low SAT
scores. Every year soccer players from across the Metropolitan area and across
the nation were denied acceptance into college because of their low SAT scores.
It was during these discussions that Soccer and Friends was born. Soccer was
the vehicle that allowed us to become friends.Therefore, we saw it necessary
to join hands as friends to make a change.
Our plan was simple: Go into a community where the population was densely
populated with immigrants and attract their children to our soccer program.
Then use soccer as the tool to show them the importance of education in
reaching their goals in life.
We chose Langley Park, Maryland, an immigrant community overflowing with
Central American, Caribbean and various African people, located five minutes
from the University of Maryland, twenty minutes from Howard University and
thirty-five minutes from the White House.
Our program, which
started as the Langley Park Soccer Club during the spring of 1998, moved to
Buck Lodge Middle School. Two years later we changed our name to the Metropolitan
Futbol Club, more commonly known as MFC, which still thrives today.
Through our after school program, run by Soccer
and Friends, we have spent more than a decade promoting and coaching soccer in
Prince George's County schools.
Our mission was quite simple “TO CREATE
OPPORUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION AND SOCCER”. Well, we can proudly say “Mission
accomplished.” and ongoing. As of the fall of 2015, forty-one players have passed through our program and went off to college of which 14 graduated