{"id":777388,"date":"2026-07-26T12:02:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T10:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/?p=777388"},"modified":"2026-07-26T12:02:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T10:02:29","slug":"celebrating-the-summer-with-stcps-football-team-les-gars-de-la-ville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/2026\/07\/26\/celebrating-the-summer-with-stcps-football-team-les-gars-de-la-ville\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating the summer with STCP’s football team Les Gars de la Ville!"},"content":{"rendered":"
Another summer Saturday. Another code red on the temperature alert. Summer in Paris has not been easy, but that didn’t stop the Sport and Culture program from finding a way to come together on July 11th, with smiles and fraternity, to celebrate the incredible 2025-26 season that was.<\/div>\n
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Starting in the morning, before the heat set in and with ice water stations set up around the field, the players, coaches, and volunteers of Les Gars de la Ville gathered to honor the deserving young men who make up the 22-man roster. They were fortunate to have two sister clubs, also supporting young men from migrant backgrounds, join the party for ‘un match amicale,’ or ‘a friendly’ as we say in English. The teams gathered together at the centre circle, arm in arm, expressing thanks for the privilege of this community, for their health, and for their collective support for one another. Players introduced themselves, amongst some teasing, and before you could hear an ‘Allez !’ the starting whistle had put resting energy into action.<\/div>\n
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For those unfamiliar, Les Gars de la Ville is Serve the City Paris’ football program supporting asylum seekers, refugees, and unaccompanied minors. The program, launched in early 2024, grew from a weekly kick-around format \u2014 where volunteers engaged young men and women through food distributions \u2014 to an organized 22-player team competing in the official FSGT Parisian Football league. July 11th marked the completion of the team’s second competitive season, and the celebration of the team’s first league title won in February.<\/div>\n
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Over the past two seasons, players have come into their own. Our first 18 months saw the majority of players (under 18 years old) preparing for their official minor status recognition hearings with the French state. For those over 18, they equally faced their own tribulations through the formal asylum process. No one had it easy. This did not mean there was not plenty to celebrate, nor that the past 12 months have been easy sailing \u2014 school finals, internships, first jobs, injuries \u2014 but the uncertainty of not having a permanent home, the vulnerability of potentially being rejected and thus not receiving access to schooling or being able to begin your new life\u2014for these brave young men, clearing this bar brought a sense of joy, relief and pride that allowed them to be their best selves on and off the field. This reality shone through on Saturday.<\/div>\n
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As sweat flew, nets bulged, and players exchanged embraces post-match, we could finally reflect together on just how far we had come. Thankfully France were preparing for the World Cup semi-finals, so hopes were even higher for some local celebrations! Players and coaches were already talking about when they would be on the training field next, anticipating September’s 1st match.<\/div>\n
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The celebrations culminated with the devoted sport volunteers calling up each player to receive his certificate and official World Cup mini ball as a sign of our appreciation. The day would not have been complete without, as always, sharing a meal together. Newly arrived STCP volunteers from the University of Chicago, and our new Marketing Manager, showed the players just how much they are cared for with homemade dishes served, picnic style (the vegetarians appreciated all the veggie options!). Well deserved after a hard day\u00a0\u2014\u00a0 a hard season\u00a0\u2014\u00a0in the books.<\/div>\n
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What this program offers is profound. Two+ years of dedication, seeing young men on the team build a family, and men and women finding purpose in empowering others through volunteering, is nothing short of extraordinary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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None of this would be possible without supporters who embody the nature of giving at their core. Giving their time, treasure, and talents, in whatever capacities they have.<\/div>\n
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From all of us at the Sport and Culture program, and from each player, volunteer, and program leader on Les Gars de la Ville, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your continued support.<\/div>\n
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See you in a few short months as we kick off the 2026-27 season, rested and as hungry as ever to make a lasting, positive impact in the lives of others.<\/div>\n
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Another summer Saturday. Another code red on the temperature alert. Summer in Paris has not been easy, but that didn’t stop the Sport and Culture program from finding a way to come together on July 11th, with smiles and fraternity, to celebrate the incredible 2025-26 season that was. Starting in the morning, before the heat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":115,"featured_media":777389,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-777388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/115"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777388"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777399,"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777388\/revisions\/777399"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}