Five eight-year-old elite soccer players from Philadelphia’s The SWAG program are traveling to Orlando, FL, to compete in the 3×3 National Championships at the Austin-Tindall Sports Complex from Thursday, July 28 through Sunday, July 31.
Riley Griffith and Mohammed Mayah, both of Southwest Philadelphia, Eli Dixon of Hamilton, NJ, Marcus Szabo of Phoenixville, PA, and Thomas Spangler who recently moved to Jacksonville, FL, will travel with their coach Ryan Griffith, Riley’s father, and compete in the Under 8 (2014) National Championship tournament. Last year, Griffith, Dixon, and Spangler competed and won the National Championship.
“These five elite players were identified through our process as they shown exemplary skills, and we are proud they will represent The SWAG, along with the city of Philadelphia, in the National 3×3 Championships,” said Ryan Griffith. “There are many terrific young athletes who participate in The SWAG and we look forward to the day when more of our competitors will represent us in future tournaments across the U.S.”
The SWAG reaches over 2,000 inner-city young children per year, and is designed to help encourage the city’s most vulnerable youth to develop a passion for soccer and lead them on a successful path to healthier lifestyles, educational opportunities and collegiate scholarships.
The SWAG launched as a pilot in late 2018 to help identify, support, and invest in talent from Philadelphia, creating local superstars from Philadelphia’s most under-resourced areas by offering very early exposure to the sport with professional training.
The SWAG expects new interest levels in soccer across the Philadelphia region to intensify with Philadelphia recently being awarded a 2026 World Cup match.
The SWAG is a philanthropically funded, no-cost soccer training program targeting young athletes ages four through eight from Philadelphia’s African-American and immigrant communities. The SWAG player pool is comprised of over 2,000 young athletes, who are offered soccer coaching and training year-round. Over 95% of The SWAG players are of African descent or from immigrant families. Learn more at https://www.the-swag.org.
