For the past ten years, Rooklyn International Football Association has provided a space where asylee, immigrant and refugee youth can connect with their peers in a safe and supportive environment. Our youth participants have been able to develop their soccer, language and leadership skills through their participation in our program.

We achieve our mission to empower asylee, immigrant and refugee youth through soccer and mentorship by providing a positive space where our youth participants can connect with their peers in a safe and supportive environment to develop their soccer, language, and leadership skills.

With support from our donors and sponsors, RIFA will continue to sustain an environment that fosters those skills and expand our programs to serve additional youth.

The support network and safe environment allow our team to pursue the following four goals:

• Promote Healthy Living

• Develop Leadership Skills

• Instill a Sense of Accountability

• Encourage Life-Long Civic Engagement

Since our beginnings in 2008 under a different name, RIFA has grown from two volunteer coaches serving 10 youth participants to 10 volunteer coaches serving an average of 80 high-school aged boys in the past five years.

After many attempts to sustain a girls program, it was the establishment of a partnership with Ladies International United in 2017 that has allowed us to offer consistent programming for young women.

RIFA was associated with Soccer Without Borders and the International Rescue Committee via Memorandums of Understanding prior to our incorporation as an independent non-profit in 2017.

While program participants come from diverse countries and speak different languages, every one of them shares an enthusiasm for soccer and every one of them deserves a great experience.

Our volunteers will continue to work to strengthen our institutional foundation and are committed to providing more opportunities for youth participants by adding additional training sessions, further developing our girls team partnership with Ladies International United, and increasing civic engagement programming.

Have a question? Want to share a resource or an idea? We’re listening.