In Haiti, soccer is life.  Even when there is no food on the table, there is excitement for the game!  Lespwa Lavi founder, Ricardo Pierre-Louis, knows firsthand the opportunities provided through sports and the benefits of allowing kids to be kids despite severe poverty and daily struggles.  Soccer provides lifetime benefits of discipline and training. For the past six years, Magic Soccer Academy Verrettes (MSAV) has been offering elite level training to the youth of Verrettes and the surrounding area. Twelve teams play in the regional league, and the Academy has been recognized by FIFA, which sponsors one of our teams.

One of the highlights of MSAV’s work has been developing girls’ soccer in the Artibonite region.  Traditionally, girls are not allowed to play soccer in Haiti and are expected to stay home and work.  MSAV started the first girls’ team in the region and through community education, encouraged other towns to do the same.  Now there is a regular female soccer league that has achieved national recognition! Women’s soccer is gaining ground. In 2018, Haiti competed in the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup final.

All players in MSAV are also enrolled in Lespwa Lavi’s education program and nutrition program.  Their coaches are also advocates for their health and monitor their progress in school. 

As the children in the Academy grow, they are given support by Lespwa Lavi to achieve their highest potential in school.  Through soccer, many will have the opportunity to receive scholarships to universities around the world.