By Media Note
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs will send U.S. soccer legends Lorrie Fair and Cobi Jones, and U.S. Soccer Federation coach Jay Hoffman on a Sports Envoy program to Burma, November 20-26. This exchange will strengthen people-to-people ties between the United States and Burma and build leadership skills among Burmese youth.
The trio will visit Rangoon and Mawlamyaing to promote teamwork, cultural understanding, and mutual respect throughout their visit. They will conduct youth soccer clinics, teach leadership to girls and coaches, and engage athletes of all backgrounds and skill levels. The week will begin with an equipment donation in conjunction with One World Futbol and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The envoys will oversee the distribution of sporting goods – including more than 5,000 soccer balls – to local youth and NGOs including Football United, MercyCorps, Girl Determined and Save the Children.
A World Cup champion and Olympic medalist, Fair has served as a Sports Envoy several times for the State Department, most recently in Afghanistan and Iraq. Jones holds the all-time record with 164 international games played for the U.S. Men’s National Team, and is a veteran of three World Cups. Hoffman boasts a 40-year coaching career on the collegiate and international levels.
Since 2003, State Department sports exchanges have brought nearly 1,000 athletes from more than 60 countries to the United States, while sending over 220 U.S. athletes to more than 50 countries.
For press inquiries, contact Anna Griffin of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, at eca-press@state.gov.
PRN: 2013/1447