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ATLANTA, GA – The 2026 FIFA World Cup is finally here and fans across North America are ready to cheer on their favorite teams.
And many young soccer fans will get the chance to cheer on these teams while standing on the biggest stage itself.
At each World Cup match, children between the ages of 6 and 10 will escort players onto the field before kickoff.
It is a tradition that dates back to 2002, when UNICEF and FIFA joined forces on the “Say yes to children” campaign.
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This year, FIFA’s breakfast sponsor, but also the sponsor of the player escort program, is Quaker Oats.
“Together, we partnered with 30+ community organizations across 11 host cities across the United States to give 1,400 young people from underserved communities the chance to lead players onto the field,” Quaker said in a press release.
In Atlanta, the community organization chosen for all eight World Cup matches is Soccer in the Streets. A nonprofit organization that gives kids across the Atlanta area a chance to learn about soccer, regardless of their economic or social status.
Soccer in the Streets is the official sponsor of player cards at the World Cup matches in Atlanta, GA. (Chelsea Torres)
This year alone, 2,500 children will benefit from Soccer in the Streets programs.
“Access starts with making it free for all kids, so no one has a barrier of cost to play this beautiful game,” said Soccer in the Streets CEO Kaseem Ladipo.
Ladipo says StationSoccer, with a partnership with Common Goal, another national organization, their free inner-city soccer league, is the official player escort at the World Cup matches in Atlanta.
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Under StationSoccer, each soccer field is conveniently located near six different train stations across Atlanta.
150 children from the non-profit organization Soccer in the Streets will escort players at all eight World Cup matches at Atlanta Stadium. (Chelsea Torres)
Ladipo says 150 of their players will escort players at the eight games at Atlanta Stadium.
“They get the opportunity to be hand in hand with a FIFA legend or a soon to be FIFA legend.”
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Two of those 150 are playing at the West End venue.
“It’s definitely made our household a soccer household,” says Erica Holloman-Hill, a mother of four boys who play for StationSoccer.
Erica says she’s still learning about the sport, but says her boys playing in this free league has helped them grow in more ways than she imagined.
The youngest, Asun, is 8. Then Asir, 10; Asad, 12 and the oldest, Asim, 14. Erica called them the “A team”.
Mother of four, Erica Holloman-Hill, sits with her four boys and nephew at the StationSoccer – West End location. (Chelsea Torres)
When asked what their favorite part of playing with each other is, Asad immediately said, “We teach each other skills and we get to see how good they are.”
Erica tells FOX that when she first heard about the vision for StationSoccer, she was hesitant. But now her four boys are going strong after two years.
And with the world’s biggest tournament in their backyard, her two youngest sons get the chance of a lifetime.
Under the Quaker Oats partnership, Asun and Asir were selected to attend a ‘Breakfast Academy’ hosted by Quaker.
“We learned a lot about the fine grains, whole grains, half grains, water, fruit and all the other things,” Asun says.
After learning about nutrition and showing great leadership on and off the field, Asun and his brother Asir were selected to walk with players at the match between South Africa and the Czech Republic on June 18 at Atlanta Stadium.
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Asir says he’s excited, but also “a little bit nervous because I never escorted anybody.”
He says that he thinks about being on the field every day, but also when he is not awake.
“I think about it in my sleep too.”
