Major League Soccer partners with Dothan native to make soccer ...

4 Jun 2024

WTVY, Dothan

DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) - Soccer continues to grow in Dothan.

With the Circle City enjoying the early success of it’s own pre-professional team, the nation’s top professional league is utilizing the help of a Dothan native with the hopes of expanding the sport by getting more kids involved.

Major League Soccer (MLS) is partnering with a Dothan native Izell Reese and his company RCX Sports on a nationwide initiative involving recreational soccer.

As part of the partnership, the goal is to increase participation and access to youth soccer in Dothan and beyond.

”Dothan has been a place that we are focusing on early on because of our partner at RCX, Izell Reese being such a key figure in that community,” Kyle Albrecht, the vice president of the MLS GO PLAY Fund, said.

The MLS GO PLAY Fund is designed to address financial challenges in youth soccer across the country.

“We aspire to have this program, especially with the World Cup on the horizon, be a beacon of growth. We think that there is no reason why there can’t be hundreds of thousands of kids playing in MLS GO over the next couple of years,” Albrecht said.

MLS looks to provide financial support to young athletes like those with the Dothan Youth Soccer Association and overcome economic barriers associated with sports.

“You see, a lot of what is going on in the travel and competitive soccer space, with thousands of dollars that it cost a kid and a family to participate in the sport. That is not what MLS GO is. It is recreational, it is about the grass roots and keeping the cost down as much as we can to allow the broadest group possible to have that terrific recreational soccer experience,” Albrecht said.

Rec league operators can also receive support through the fund.

Applications for the MLS GO PLAY Fund grants will go through the RCX Sports Foundation.

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