Neighborhood News
Street Soccer Tour Lands in McKinley Park
Multiple compact pitches supporting show-up-and-play "street soccer" have popped up in McKinley Park, part of a program traveling to several Chicago parks this summer.
"The focus of the Street Soccer Tour is free, unstructured, communal play," said Neal Levin, CEO and founder of program producer Mettle Sports. "This is about your park and your community taking ownership of the street soccer pitches and using them as you wish."
The Street Soccer Tour presents four soccer fields accessible during McKinley Park's open hours: 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. The fields started hosting players on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, and will remain at McKinley Park through Wednesday, July 13.
One of the Chicago Street Soccer Tour pitches is at McKinley Park's baseball diamond No. 5.After that, the tour continues to several other parks around the city, having already hosted players at the Bronzeville neighborhood's Ellis Park prior to McKinley Park. This fall, the program culminates in the Chicago Street Soccer Cup, a competition between top teams representing Chicago neighborhoods.
Now They're Playing Together
Levin noted how the McKinley Park fields were already inspiring lots of active soccer play. "Four guys in their late 20s or 30s were kicking it around in front of the big goal next to our three versus three pitch. Four boys in their young teens rode up on their bikes to check out the pitch, and one of the older guys asked if they wanted to play four versus four."
A video portrays the Chicago Street Soccer Cup from 2021.
"This game ensued ... a very spirited game," Levin said. "They were going crazy for this, and for all the right reasons. The two sets didn't know each other before this happened, and now they're playing together."
A Worldwide Practice
One Chicago Street Soccer pitch lies next to the tennis courts in McKinley Park.A Mettle Sports announcement noted how casual street soccer is touchstone for community involvement throughout the world, a practice the tour seeks to bring to Chicago's neighborhoods.
"This small-sided styled play is lively and constant, forcing quicker decision-making and impromptu creativity," the announcement said. "Street soccer pitches, and the small-sided play that occurs within, act to serve as communal sanctuaries."
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