Last Stop for the Sports Envoys in Frankfurt

May 6, 2011

Briana Scurry and Amanda Cromwell with the kids (Photo: State Department)

On July 17, the FIFA Women's World Cup will have its grand finale in Frankfurt - and fittingly, so did Ambassador Philip D. Murphy’s Soccer Road Show, supported by the SportsUnited Office of the Department of State. Briana Scurry and Amanda Cromwell, both former players on the U.S. national team, hosted their final soccer clinics for kids from Albert-Schweitzer School in the morning and teenagers from Michael Ende School, Karmeliter-School, as well as FC Rödelheim in the afternoon. All three schools participate in the LitCam Football meets Culture program which is set up for children and teenagers from families with immigration backgrounds and/or low incomes. At the soccer field of TSG Frankfurt Berg, the sports envoys and Consul General Alford were joined by Karin Ploetz, director of the LitCam program, Nia Kuenzer, former German national team player and Ambassador for the program, as well as two Consulate Frankfurt Marine Security Guards. The participants, whose families are from Ghana, Spain, Indonesia, Korea, Kroatia, to name but a few, not only learned some tricks from Briana and Amanda to improve their soccer skills. The two also talked to the kids about the importance of fair play and team work beyond the soccer field. On their road show through Berlin, Dresden, Wolfsburg, Sinsheim and Frankfurt, the two sports envoys, Ambassador Murphy and the Consul Generals of Leipzig, Hamburg, Hamburg and Frankfurt reached over 600 kids and thereby set a great example of the important role sports can play in fostering transatlantic friendships.