Soccer Clinics for young Moroccans with American star Lorrie Fairand coach Jay Miller
American soccer star Lorrie Fair and renowned coach Jay Miller conducted four days of soccer clinics from March 31-April 4, 2008 for 60 Moroccan boys and girls, age 14-17, from throughout Morocco. Participants improved their soccer skills through workshops and supervised practice, while also learning from the American visitors about citizenship, good health practices and sportsmanship. The program took place in Bouznika, and was sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Rabat as part of the U.S. State Department’s SportsUnited program, in cooperation with the Moroccan Ministry of Youth and Sport, l’Association Marocaine “Sport et Development” (AMSD), as well as sports associations throughout the Casablanca area.
Many of the young participants praised Sports Envoys Fair and Miller. Rahma from Oujda told the press she “was extremely happy with the program and thankful to be among the participants.” Another participant said: “The Sports Envoy program really changed the image we had of the Americans before the camp.” “The Americans took good care of us,” commented another student from Meknes.
The event received extensive broadcast and print media coverage, featuring interviews with the trainers, the participants, and senior officials who attending the opening and closing sessions, including U.S. Ambassador to Morocco Thomas T. Riley, and Moroccan Minister of Youth and Sports Nawal Moutawakkil, the first women from the African continent to win an Olympic medal. The daily newspaper L'Opinion wrote: "There is no doubt that the four days in Bouznika will leave a mark on our children, but also on the coaches and especially Jay Miller and Lorrie Fair, whose enthusiasm is infectious. Beyond the borders and barriers comes friendship and warmth…” (Click here to watch television coverage on Moroccan Channel One: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Lorrie Fair is the first American soccer player to play with the top-ranked, London-based Chelsea Women’s Football Club. She first gained fame at the age of 20 as the youngest member of the U.S. national soccer team that won the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1999. She has also participated in two Olympic Games. Jay Miller is Executive Director of Coaching for the Atlanta Fire United Soccer Association, a club with over 4,000 members.
The U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' SportsUnited program is an International Sports Programming Initiative designed to work at the grass roots level to aid non-elite youth, ages 7-17, in discovering how success in athletics can be translated into the development of life skills and achievement in the classroom. The Initiative provides foreign participants with opportunities to establish linkages with U.S. sports professionals and exposure to American life and culture. The experience also provides Americans the opportunity to learn about foreign cultures and the challenges young people from overseas face today.
