Grass Roots clinic hosted by SIFA in East LA. SIFA’s players turned coaches on the right.
Changing the lives of young student athletes and their families forever.
Soccer Is For All is a foundation created to provide opportunities for underprivileged youth student athletes, to play at the more competitive club soccer level. SIFA not only sponsors those families in financial need, but also provides guidance and mentorship to further assist these young adults in achieving their academic and athletic goals beyond expectations.
MISSION
Soccer Is for All (SIFA) empowers young student athletes in underserved communities by creating opportunities for success at the competitive club soccer level as well as guidance to pursue higher education .
VISION
Soccer Is For All envisions a world where the socioeconomic barriers to playing club soccer are broken down in order to create a more inclusive and diverse sport.
Behind the scenes
Another Successful SIFA Event
2ND Annual Rising Stars Showcase Impacted Over 50 Underrepresented Student Athletes Giving Them The Opportunity Of A Lifetime To Play In Front Of College Coaches!
We cant thank our donors enough for your support where as, you are directly impacting these “Rising Stars” and their families! Your donations make it all possible, giving them opportunities they normally would not have and ultimately, giving our young adults a brighter future that they never dreamed possible.
SIFA’S OWN AKANISI SOROVAKARUA CALLED UP TO THE FIJI NATIONAL TEAM!
All of us at SIFA could not be prouder of “Nisi” as all of her hard work and dedication has paid
off, earning a well-deserved call up to the Fiji national team. It was in 2017 that SIFA/Coach
Billy first discovered Nisi in the inner-city rec leagues and recruited and sponsored her to play at
SIFA/Beach FC G05. SIFA then sponsored Nisi for the next 6 years at Beach FC where she
would grow in self-confidence and improve her overall game by reaping all the benefits that club
soccer offers.
After SIFA/Beach FC, through SIFA’s College Bound Program, Nisi would become a First-
Generation college student by attending and playing for our good friends at West LA College and
improving even more under the guidance and mentorship of West LA’s coaching staff
Sheldon Thomas (SIFA Co-Founder and Vice President), Stephanie Banuelos (SIFA/Beach FC
Asst Coach) and Josh Figueroa (SIFA recruitment Advisor).
We at SIFA cannot be prouder of one of our most veteran players for having all of her
commitment pay off, as this accomplishment could not have happened to a better kid. We wish
her all the best in her new endeavor, playing with the Fiji National Team, but with her great
attitude and work ethic we know she will continue to prosper!
Founder
What Coach Billy Hansen has accomplished, by proactively scouting, sponsoring, and mentoring underserved youth soccer players, while providing exclusive inclusion into the club system, has ultimately changed the lives of young student athletes and their families forever through the vehicle of soccer.
With Billy’s fluent Spanish, 30 years of coaching experience, and countless hours scouting the inner-city rec leagues, he has not only been able to coach but more importantly, mentor, over 40 underprivileged athletes to achieve some of their most ambitious goals (some of which include, players playing at the highest club level – ECNL and EA 64- and collegiately)!
At this time last year SIFA was sponsoring 12 underprivileged student athletes. Now, thanks to the generous support of our donors, SIFA is currently sponsoring over 40 Student athletes playing at the club level while giving them the best opportunity to succeed at the next level.
To learn more about Coach Billy and our SIFA team members.
Billy Hansen
SIFA FOUNDER
As scouting in underserved communities became a constant for Coach Billy, discovering more and more recreational leagues and spending countless hours watching talented players with great potential, he realized that the multitude of players that needed overall guidance and assistance was beyond his capacity. Thus, Soccer Is For All was created.
Our projects were recently featured in local news media including The Daily Breeze and ABC.
To view the full features, click on the following links:
Quick Stats
100%
of our seniors are all attending college in the Fall of 2024. All 15 of them are first-generation college students.
1000+
underserved players impacted by SIFA’s free clinics. which includes many new players who are introduced to the game.
100+
underprivileged players sponsored by SIFA at the club level.
Learn more about our SIFA players.
Partners
“With Coach Billy sponsoring and providing me the opportunity to participate in club soccer, along with his guidance these past seven years, I am not only the first person in my family to attend college, but also, I am achieving my dream of playing college soccer.”
Ashly (G2005)
Shown left 2018, right 2023
Want to know more about how we coach Ashly and her teammates?
“What coach Billy has done for these girls, mentoring and sponsoring them to play club soccer, year after year, is unprecedented. As a Div I/II college head coach, I only recruit players from the higher level club teams. If Billy isn’t helping them with this opportunity to play at that level, they are not on my Radar and I, ultimately, won’t see them. But, once they are recruited to the club level, and they have developed to their full potential,they now have earned the opportunity to be seen by coaches like me. They now can fulfill their aspirations of playing collegiate soccer.”
Marine Cano
Former Domiguez Hills, UC Irvine, Soka University Head Coach
“I have known Billy for over 40 years as a player, coach, and friend. Billy has always had a wonderful passion for the game. Over the last 10 years, Billy has advocated for youth players who unfortunately did not have the resources to participate in today’s pay-to-play club soccer system. His desire to help these players by funding their opportunity out of his own pocket the last 10 years has been a blessing for so many youth players, who now have access to all the benefits that club soccer has to offer, including visibility from college coaches like us.”
“Billy wants to take his cause to the next level to make even a bigger impact on more young players’ lives. I believe his cause in giving these youth players their chance is an amazing opportunity for all to give back to the game.”
Jim Millinder
Former Head Women’s Soccer Coach University of Southern California, Current Head Women’s Coach at the University of San Francisco
Support our cause
Help us give every student athlete the opportunity to fulfill their potential by making a contribution and change the lives of these kids forever. 100% of your donations goes to directly sponsoring our student athletes.