Hermosa Beach Humanitarian Group Partners with LA Galaxy and Midfielder Baggio Husidic

Hermosa Beach Humanitarian Group Partners with LA Galaxy and Midfielder Baggio Husidic to Promote Refugee Soccer Programs - LA Galaxy will kick off its season on March 4, 2018, against the Portland Timbers and in support of refugee soccer programs in Chad and Cameroon. This will be the third-annual iACT Night at LA Galaxy. Since 2013, local humanitarian organization iACT has facilitated the award-winning Refugees United Soccer Academy for refugee girls and boys ages 6-13 in order to promote teamwork, leadership, gender equality, and peacebuilding, all while improving soccer skills.

Every ticket sold through the iACT Night at LA Galaxy link will sponsor one refugee girl or boy for an entire year at the Refugees United Soccer Academy. It only takes $10 a year to support one of the over-7,200 Academy youth players who are mentored by 32 male and female coaches who are refugees themselves. Additionally, iACT/LA Galaxy ticket-holders receive an exclusive, limited-edition, co-branded Refugees United and LA Galaxy scarf and access to a pregame event in the TV Studio at field level, adjacent to the players’ tunnel.

iACT Brand Ambassador Baggio Husidic, a former Bosnian refugee and LA Galaxy Midfielder, has this message for a refugee girl or boy going through tough circumstances: “Let the soccer field be a place where you can express yourself fully and let all your emotions pour out on the field.” Husidic, available for interviews, has shared that as a refugee, the soccer field was the only place where he felt equal to the people around him. “You’re not being judged on how you look, your accent, or where you are from. You are being judged on your performance on the field.”

WHAT: iACT Night at LA Galaxy, season opener against Portland Timbers WHO: Baggio Husidic, iACT Brand Ambassador and LA Galaxy Midfielder WHEN: March 4, 2018, 7pm WHERE: StubHub Center in Carson, CA

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iACT is an award-winning Los Angeles-based international organization providing humanitarian action to aid, empower, and extend hope to those affected by mass atrocities, creating a world where people are connected and equipped to act. Through responsive action campaigns and leadership development in the U.S., iACT provides tools and training necessary to create a new culture of participation for people facing and responding to humanitarian crises. iACT utilizes innovative thinking, human-centered design, and collaborative relationships to co-create replicable and cost-effective programs in refugee camps. iACT currently serves more than 8,000 refugees living in Chad, Cameroon, and Sweden. U.S.-based empathy and education programs have reached more than 110,000 people in more than 25 states. www.iact.ngo

Press inquiries: Katie-Jay Scott | Chief Operating Officer iACT (310) 738-0285 ktj@iact.ngo