{"id":40417,"date":"2026-05-12T15:57:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T15:57:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/?p=40417"},"modified":"2026-05-12T15:57:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T15:57:58","slug":"mayor-mamdani-transforms-50-school-blocks-across-new-york-city-into-world-cup-field-days-for-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/archives\/40417","title":{"rendered":"Mayor Mamdani transforms 50 school blocks across New York City into World Cup field days for students"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEWYORK: Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani launched “Soccer Streets,” a traveling series of field days visiting 50 public schools across the five boroughs ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At each stop, car-free streets outside schools will be transformed into soccer pitches, art stations and block-party celebrations. The activations began May 1 and will continue school to school through the last day of school on June 26.<\/p>\n

As part of Soccer Streets, students will play pickup matches, run drills, paint team flags and celebrate the world\u2019s biggest sporting event coming to New York City this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe World Cup is coming to New York City, and we want every kid in this city to experience the joy of the game,\u201d said\u00a0Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani.<\/p>\n

\u201cSoccer Streets takes that energy directly into our neighborhoods \u2014 closing streets to cars, opening them to play and making sure this celebration isn’t reserved for people who can afford a ticket. Open Streets is one of the best tools we have to reclaim public space for the public and these activations are another step toward bringing the World Cup to our city\u2019s young people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor so many schools, the street outside their door is the only outdoor space they have. Soccer Streets shows what’s possible when we give that space back to kids \u2014 for play, for learning, for community,\u201d said\u00a0NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re thrilled to partner on this celebration, and we want every school in the city to know the door is open to join Open Streets year-round.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOutdoor play and physical activity are essential to the whole child,\u201d said\u00a0Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels.<\/p>\n

\u201cInitiatives like this remind us that the street right outside a school door can be just as powerful a learning environment as the classrooms inside it. I\u2019m grateful to all partners who had a hand in making this possible and can\u2019t wait for our students to have this experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up I loved soccer. It was more than just a game. I learned it has the power to unify all of us, create belonging, and teach skills that go far beyond the field,\u201d said\u00a0Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder and CEO of Chobani.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom supporting the U.S. National Team to youth clubs across the country, we\u2019ve seen that when you feed people\u2019s dreams they grow. Teaming up with Mayor Mamdani to bring that spirit to neighborhoods across New York City feels truly magical. Seeing streets filled with kids playing, families cheering, and communities connecting through this beautiful game\u2014that\u2019s what makes soccer so special. Especially ahead of the World Cup, there\u2019s no better way to celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe World Cup is about more than the games in the stadium. It\u2019s about sparking the joy of the game in young people and bringing communities together around this historic celebration,\u201d said\u00a0World Cup Czar Maya Handa.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery borough will participate and every neighborhood should benefit from the World Cup coming to our city.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOpen Streets for Schools hold a special promise for the future of the city,\u201d said\u00a0<\/strong>Leslie Davol, Executive Director of Street Lab.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing students, families, teachers, and neighbors, working side-by-side to transform streets into places to gather, bringing learning from out behind the walls, and inspiring the whole community. It\u2019s a grassroots movement, rising from the ground up and from the boroughs in. We\u2019re excited to be working with this administration to help bring this new vision of NYC streets to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The City is partnering with the nonprofit Street Lab and Chobani to bring Soccer Streets to schools across the five boroughs.<\/p>\n

Last month, Mayor Mamdani, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and the FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122 New York New Jersey Host Committee announced a free, citywide slate of official NYNJ Fans events across all five boroughs, including live match viewings, cultural programming, engagements at local businesses and interactive experiences for New Yorkers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEWYORK: Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani launched “Soccer Streets,” a traveling series of field days visiting 50 public schools across the five boroughs ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. At each stop, car-free streets outside schools will be transformed into soccer pitches, art stations and block-party celebrations. The activations began May 1 and will continue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":40418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1469,31,1378],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-york","category-news","category-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40417"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40419,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40417\/revisions\/40419"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}