A.F.J.A.’s Fight for Opportunity in Central America

Four years ago, Steven Cruz found himself standing in front of a classroom of elementary schoolers in Canton Los Amates, El Salvador. It was the first time he had been back to this city since he graduated college in 2015.

Bullet holes remain in the classroom walls from the civil war which took place throughout three decades in the country. It's the same room in which his mother learned to read and write. The students paid little attention to Cruz that afternoon. Some kids' heads faced down, staring at their desk while others doodled in notebooks.

What the children didn’t know was that Cruz was about to change their lives forever, giving them an opportunity to blend their love of soccer with progression in their academics.

“I am here to talk to you about soccer,” he said.

That is the day A.F.J.A. (Academia de Futbol Juvenil Amatense) began. An organization grounded in social change through soccer. Through that goal, Cruz connected Los Angeles with Central America. He brought awareness to an entire culture that is constantly overshadowed. He highlighted AFJA and the kids of Central America by working with the L.A. Galaxy to expand his vision to others. And it all started in the town of Canton Los Amates.

Cruz knew Canton Los Amates very well. Born and raised in LA, he spent childhood summers in El Salvador with his grandparents. It was in this rural town that he fell in love with his culture. In the town, Cruz said there was only one place he could make friends.

The soccer field.

Soccer remains a staple of Salvadoran culture. Cruzes grandfather had donated a soccer field to the town. Surrounded by corn fields, the soccer pitch was consistently used by kids in the neighborhood throughout summer.

Even as a child, Cruz noticed the difference between life in LA and life in El Salvador. “I do remember at a very early age, being impacted by the disparity that existed between the kids I grew up with in LA and El Salvador,” Cruz said. “I would see kids my age working in the corn fields or just working really hard manual labor jobs.”

As years went on, these images stuck with him and became the base of the change he wanted to see in Central America. After graduating from the University of Southern California and having a job in the healthcare field, something was still missing for Cruz.

He decided to put together a GoFundMe page with a goal of $500 that he would match if achieved. He wanted to give back to the children in Canton Los Amates in any way he could.

Within 24 hours, that goal was reached.

From there, Cruzes goal and mission expanded.

Soccer parents and coaches were contacting Cruz pleading that he take the soccer gear and equipment that was collecting dust in their homes. “I had my garage and closet as well as my mom's closet and garage full of soccer gear,” Cruz said. “Anything you could think of we had in a one to two month turnaround.”

Cruz and his mother compiled 200 pounds of soccer gear into a few suitcases and flew to El Salvador.

Cruz knew that the Canton Los Amates school was the perfect place to donate this soccer equipment, and moreover what he could create there. Soccer could be used as a tool to motivate children to come to school and succeed.

In El Salvador, the average age of schooling for adults is fifth grade. Just 33% of youth eligible for secondary school (beyond ninth grade) actually attend due to the poverty that many families face. Teens are needed to work from a young age, some as young as 7 to support their families.

Helping kids was Cruzes ultimate motivation. “I am one person's decision away from being those kids,” Cruz said. “My mom immigrated to Los Angeles during the civil war, and I could very well be the kid working in the corn fields.”

When he returned to LA, Cruz researched how he could create a nonprofit organization. With help from friends and family members, Cruz created AFJA around three conditions: academics, community and attendance.

One of the friends Cruz reached out to was Gabriel Garibay, whom he initially met at USC. The two were members of the Sigma Delta Alpha fraternity, one of the few Latinx fraternities on campus. Cruz saw Garibay, who worked in finance, as a perfect fit for CFO of AFJA.

Garibay’s main job was to manage finances and to ensure they met IRS standards. While it was apparent to Garibay that Cruz was committed to expanding soccer academies across Central America, it wasn’t until he visited Canton Los Amates himself that he realized the profound impact the academies had on these communities.

“There is a big difference watching what you are doing through a screen and then engaging with parents and kids and people in the community,” said Garibay. “I saw the kids' faces, I saw the difference it made. I fell even more in love with his mission.”

With their success in Canton Los Amates, AFJA was able to expand to another Salvadoran community, Ateos, La Libertad. Following their second academy, AFJA created a third location in Guatemala.

“Every time we opened a new location there was a new strategy,” Cruz said. The Guatemala location was much more urban compared to the rural settings they worked with in El Salvador. The organization adapted to the differences and created another successful academy.

With three academies opened, AFJA was not going unnoticed. In 2019, the MLS recognized Cruz as its MLS Community MVP, an award given to MLS fans who are creating a positive impact in their community. By winning the award, Cruz received $25,000 towards AFJA.

On top of this, Cruz was a recipient of the Nike Social and Community Impact grant. The grant gave AFJA more funds to create more academies.

The success and publicity Cruz and AFJA were receiving caught the attention of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Cruzes favorite soccer team.

Chris Thomas, who was the Senior Director of digital fan engagement for the Galaxy from 2010-2021, heard about AFJA from Galaxy fans.

“It was such a natural connection between the Galaxy and AFJA, in how it brought things full circle with our fans,” Thomas said. “We could make deeper connections with some of our former and current players who come from Central American countries.”

The Galaxy created another outlet for AFJA to gain supporters. Through Central American heritage nights and equipment drives AFJA became a mainstay in Galaxy fandom.

Thomas says the Galaxy were the first North American professional sports team to host an exclusively Central American heritage night.

Thank you to everyone that came together to make our presentation of Central American Heritage Night @LAGalaxy special.
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The first and only team to welcome the presentation of a Heritage Night dedicated to our culture .#LatinxHeritageMonth #HispanicHeritageMonth #AFJA @MLSes pic.twitter.com/B2HE6e6nfB

— AFJA Youth Soccer Academy 🇸🇻🇬🇹🇭🇳🇵🇦 (@AFJAES) September 20, 2021

“I think what was really cool was how uniquely it spoke to Galaxy fans,” Thomas said. “My feeling was that a lot of soccer fans who have Central American heritage didn’t always feel represented within professional sports here in Los Angeles.”

Cruz says one of the motivations in people supporting AFJA was to spread the beauty of Central American culture and provide clarity to the wrongful assumptions many people have on the region.

“Whenever I would tell people I am Salvadoran they respond with fear and negative feelings,” Cruz said. “That’s not what I remember. I remember having so much fun in El Salvador.”

As their message of the positivity within Central America continued to spread, AFJA were in the works of opening their first academy in Honduras. Only this school was different from the rest.

This would be the first all-girl soccer academy opened by AFJA.

The idea came to Cruz after he was repeatedly told how beneficial a boys academy would be for the community. Girls were never brought into the conversation.

“Everybody I talk to can’t tell me what is being done for the girls [in the community],” Cruz said. “It’s like that in El Salvador as well where ‘girls don’t play sports,’ and that's why we have to [create an all-girl academy.]”

The Honduras academy was launched in March, 2020. After one practice, the facility shut down due to COVID-19.

Quickly into the pandemic teachers from the different academies told Cruz they were losing kids because classes were being held online. Kids did not have the internet to connect to school. Cruz knew many of the kids had cell phones and that there was a cell phone signal in the area.

“We bought used cell phones and leveraged cellular networks to create what we call AFJA online.” The kids would have classes and soccer practice through the cellphones AFJA provided.

For the first time during the pandemic, the kids were connected again. Not only did they see their classmates from their own academy, but met kids from the other academies all over Central America.

In four years, Cruz had gone from a $500 GoFundMe page, to connecting kids throughout Central America and giving them a chance to pursue academics while playing the sport they love.

“I have a hard time telling people I didn’t think we would make it this far,” Cruz said. “I knew we could do it, but I didn’t think we would do it so fast.”

Garibay said these academies are showing kids they have opportunities beyond the poverty they live in.

“It is more than just soccer. It is about being able to turn to your neighbor and ask for help,” Garibay said.” “Showing your vulnerable side is not taught and we know how much that can prevent you from taking advantage of certain opportunities.”

For Cruz, the dream is to get these kids scholarships to universities in the United States or Europe. “Maybe 1 in 100 will go on to be a professional soccer player, but the other 99 will be teachers, physicians, anything they want to be,” Cruz said.

To see how you can help AFJA continue to create social change in Central America, click the link below.