( left - Wondo signs up for Street Soccer USA: photo Thomas Boyer)
By Mark Barbeau of Footy SF
' Wondolowski drew quite the crowd yest erday at the Uniqlo Union Square store, where he took part in a ceremonial contract signing with the non-profit, Street Soccer USA.
An hour before the event, fans were lined up outside the store's Powell Street entrance, hoping for a chance to meet the Bay Area's biggest soccer star, who was announced as the newest member of Street Soccer USA's National Soccer for Social Change Board .
Street Soccer USA is a national organization that uses soccer as part of their social change mission, helping to transition homeless teens and young adults into safer, healthier communities.
Wondolowski said his involvement in the organization was born out of 'a desire to get more involved in his community'. Several years ago, his fath er sent him an SFGate article about the organization, which led to a meeting with founders, Lawrence and Rob Cann. This was followed by a visit to a practice, where he witnessed the program in action, and has been involved ever since.
'Once I saw what they were doing, it took me all of a minute to decide to get involved', Chris says, 'They have a great cause of helping one another and I just wanted to be a part of it. Life and soccer both have so many shared nuances, they're both team sports, and if you h ave teammates you can depend on, then when you're exhausted in the 90 th minute, they're there to support you. Street Soccer provides that kind of network for their players.'
Having Wondo involved has been a boon for the organization. Co-founder, Lawrence Cann says, 'Professional athletes have such a enormous platform and for Chris to shine a light on what we're doing is really great.'
The Uniqlo store was chosen because for the second year in a row, Uniqlo USA is the official appa rel sponsor of Street Soccer USA. The non-profit's biggest yearly event, the 2015 SSUA National Cup takes place this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at San Francisco's Civic Center, presented in conjunction with the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department.
The event features multiple 4 v 4 soccer cup competitions and the matches are intense and fast-paced. Local teams compete in the Corporate and Open Cup divisions while program participants from SSUSA's 16 national chapters will square off in the Social Change Cup.
At the end of this tournament, outstanding program players are chosen to represent Street Soccer USA at the Homeless World Cup in Amsterdam this September.
Chris Wondolowski will be on hand Sunday to provide color commentary for the Social Change Cup Final and to present the winner's medals.
Street Soccer USA 2015 National Cup
August 14-16, 2015
Civic Center Plaza , San Francisco
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