Photo above: Little Ralph Lucharles played with a soccer ball that is nearly bigger than he is at Hunt-Almont Park during a World Cup Mattapan Family Fun Day organized by the Mattapan Square Main Streets organization in June 2026. Seth Daniel photo
By Candice Gartley, Steph Lewis, and Toni Wiley
Last month, Haiti’s national team walked onto the pitch at Gillette Stadium for its first World Cup match in 52 years — and it did so in our backyard, packing stands in red and blue with a Haitian diaspora that calls Boston home. A few weeks later, Cape Verde, a nation with a population smaller than Boston’s, went on a run to the Round of 16 that stunned people around the world. Their historic feat captured the hearts of the Cape Verdean communities of Dorchester and beyond that have shaped so much of this city’s culture.
Two small nations. Two enormous moments. And for a few weeks this summer, two reminders of something the World Cup does better than almost anything else: it reaches past language, past politics, past everything that usually divides us, and touches the human spirit in a remarkable way.
This is the power of sports and the magic of the World Cup. The tournament doesn’t erase our differences, it does something better, it holds them all at once. It invites people to bring their culture and traditions and allows us all to feel like we belong to the same moment in history.
As we have seen in the crowds and watch parties across North America these past few weeks, sports create a common space for everyone and remind us that underneath the different colors and flags, we are far more alike than we are different.
This is the same work we do every day here in Boston, ensuring the young people of this city have opportunities to play sports.
This is why we, in collaboration with our partners, created the Change the Game Coalition — a new partnership built on a simple idea: access to organized sports is critical for kids, communities, and the health of our city, and must be advocated for strongly.
This is the work we are doing at the organizations we lead – The BASE, Sportsmen’s Tennis and Enrichment Center, and All Dorchester Sports and Leadership, along with Boston SCORES, Community Rowing, Courageous Sailing, Harlem Lacrosse, SquashBusters, and Youth Enrichment Services. Nine organizations, many sports, one shared conviction: that every child in this city deserves access to high-quality sports-based youth development programming.
We are doing locally what the World Cup does on a global stage. Organizations with their own histories, their own colors, their own home turf, are asking a bigger question: what can be built if we play for the same side?
Every year, our coalition reaches thousands of young people across every neighborhood of Boston. Alone, each organization is strong; together, we are harder to ignore. Philanthropists and policymakers need to know sports-based youth development isn’t a nice extra, it’s essential infrastructure for how young people grow up healthy, hopeful, and connected to their community.
There is a lesson in that for the rest of us too, and it’s the same lesson the World Cup teaches every four years – unity doesn’t require sameness. The Haitian and Cape Verdean families who packed stadiums and living rooms this summer didn’t need to agree on anything except that the moment was worth showing up for. The nine organizations in the Change the Game Coalition don’t run identical programs or serve identical neighborhoods, and we don’t need to. What we share is a belief that a kid with a ball, a coach in their corner, and a supporting team has a better shot at a thriving life.
Through the World Cup we witnessed the amazing power of sports, with the thrill of competition and the pride of playing for one’s nation. We hope those who make policy decisions and allocate public and private resources will recognize that the beauty of what has played out on our screens is also playing out in our neighborhoods. Having a thriving youth sports ecosystem is critical for the long-term success of this city – keeping families here, ensuring young people are engaged, and creating opportunities for them to build the habits and mindsets that lead to success.
As the 2026 World Cup fades into history, our work will continue. If Boston wants to invest in something with staying power, it should start with the coaches, mentors, and programs already proving — one practice, one game, one kid at a time — that sports can still bring a divided world a little closer together.
Candice Gartley is the Executive Director Emeritus, All Dorchester Sports and Leadership; Steph Lewis is President & CEO, The BASE; Toni Wiley is the CEO, Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Center.
