“Kick for Nick” Sends 10,000 Soccer Balls to Iraq

When Pfc Nick Madaras was sent to Iraq, he noticed that the kids were so desperate to play soccer that they were playing with tin cans and rocks. As an avid fan/player/coach himself, he asked his friends and family to send him soccer balls to distribute to the children.

He never got the chance to do that. Pfc Madaras was killed by a roadside bomb in on September 3, 2006. He was nineteen years old.

His family and friends decided that this young man’s death would not be in vain. In the past two years, they have collected more than 10,000 soccer balls for distribution to the children of Iraq. Most recently, fans of UConn’s men’s soccer donated more than 1000 soccer balls for their team’s game against West Virginia.

A good way to create beauty out of something so horrific and ugly. I think this is the true definition of “The Beautiful Game.”

UPDATE: Reader Charles offers up this link for anyone who would like to donate to the cause.

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Category: World Football