Sounders FC has long been committed to supporting its community. From assemblies at local schools to hosting soccer clinics around the world, the club has always found ways to prioritize its roots and give back.
In 2015, ahead of Major League Soccer’s 20th season, the league announced the 20-for-20 Mini-Pitch Initiative, which commited to expanding youth access to play spaces in the then 20 MLS markets across North America. For its part, Sounders FC opened its first-ever mini-pitch at Beverly Park Elementary School in spring 2016.
Little did the club know, this first mini-pitch would spark a larger initiative with its foundation in which they would strive to open a total of 26 mini-pitches by 2026. That objective was reached two years early on September 29, 2024. With so much momentum and investment behind the initiative, the Sounders and RAVE Foundation have set their sights on building 26 MORE mini-pitches — 52 in total — by the completion of the original timeline.
Shortly after the opening of that first mini-pitch came the official launch and announcement of RAVE Foundation, the club’s official charitable partner named after the Sounders’ moniker and brand color, “Rave Green.” With the founding mantra of “Small Fields. Big Ideas,” RAVE’s mission has always been clear: build small fields for free-play and use soccer as a vehicle to inspire youth and strengthen communities.
“It’s been a long-term passion of mine for Sounders FC to bring free, accessible soccer to underserved communities in the Seattle area,” said Sounders FC Owner Adrian Hanauer at the time of the launch. “Soccer is a game that brings joy and opportunity to so many people around the world. We see it as an obligation to make sure that no one in our community is excluded from experiencing everything that the beautiful game affords.”
Two years after its launch, RAVE Foundation opened its first mini-pitch in conjunction with Sounders FC at Yesler Terrace Park in Seattle. RAVE’s inaugural field was created by and for the Yesler community with art made by local youth adorning the field’s goals, through the foundation's Goals for Art program. Known as RAVE’s flagship, the field at Yesler Terrace Park marked a new page in the club’s history, exemplifying the power of soccer in fostering and supporting community.
Following the opening of its flagship field, the foundation went on to open seven more mini-pitches across the greater Seattle area by the end of 2021 with the club and partners from Delta Air Lines, Seattle Storm, Premera Blue Cross and the Puyallup Tribe of Indians.
With the beginning of the new year, came the official launch of the 26 by 2026 initiative in which the club and RAVE Foundation announced their goal of constructing 26 free play fields in historically marginalized communities across Washington state by the time FIFA World Cup 2026 comes to Seattle. This concentrated effort gave the foundation a focused lens through and by which it would do the core of its work, all while supporting the club’s wider effort to Defend the Right to Play, as outlined in its Social Justice Framework.
At the time of the announcement, nine mini-pitches had been brought to life across the Greater Seattle area; making the goal to build 17 more mini-pitches over the next four years — an audacious goal given the five years it took to complete the first nine.
Despite the herculean nature of their goal, Sounders and RAVE did not shy away, and instead opened four more fields before the end of 2022. Serving the communities in Seattle, Tacoma and Yakima, the tenth through thirteenth mini-pitches brought in new partners from Seattle Youth Soccer Association, Seattle United, Washington Youth Soccer, University of Washington and Seattle Reign FC (then OL Reign).
Announced in 2019 and opened in 2023, the mini-pitches at Seattle’s NewHolly community were landmarks on the road to building 26 free-play fields. These fields brought two monumental, long-term partnerships for the foundation to life with Seattle’s local organizing committee for FIFA World Cup 2026 (SeattleFWC26) and local real estate entrepreneur Thach Nguyen. With support from SeattleFWC26, the mini-pitches and opening celebration were massive moments for the community — marking the beginning of the committee’s work with RAVE Foundation as part of its Legacy Promise in which it works to ensure FIFA World Cup 2026 leaves a positive mark on Seattle. With support from Thach Nguyen, $400,000 was raised in three short months to support a project he found extremely personal as it serendipitously matched his unique background and love for the community.
In the year and a half following the NewHolly fields opening and beginning of the partnership with SeattleFWC26, Sounders and RAVE Foundation opened 11 more mini-pitches, expanding their reach as far east as Spokane. Along the way, they fostered deeper, more impactful partnerships with the likes of Black Players for Change, American Family Insurance, Puget Sound Energy, Providence and Sounders FC fans represented by the club’s Alliance Council.
What began with a leaguewide initiative has since blossomed into a concerted effort to bring play equity to Washington state. With a clear mission in mind and unwavering support from community partners, Sounders FC and RAVE Foundation successfully reached their goal of opening 26 free play fields two years early, and are continuing their commitment through the updated 26 MORE by 2026 initiative.
Those interested in supporting RAVE Foundation and the 26 MORE by 2026 Initiative can click HERE.
