Kyle Weiss

Kyle Weiss is from California and is the 19-year-old founder of FUNDaFIELD.

At the age of 13, Kyle and his brother started FUNDaFIELD as a way to give kids a chance to play soccer, the game they loved so much. As the brothers got older and spent more time in Africa, they witnessed over and over the conditions and societal problems that youth in the developing world deal with everyday. They also saw how FUNDaFIELD and the therapeutic benefits of sports can be life-changing for youth who have been former child soldiers, lost both parents to disease, experienced physical or mental abuse or been through any other traumatic experience. Using soccer as a means for promoting healing, peace and development, FUNDaFIELD strives to create positive change and to improve the lives of post-conflict and post-trauma populations in the developing world. Kyle wants to build a world where any kid, regardless of his or her background and situation, has the chance to play.

Kyle believes that as a truly universal language, the therapeutic benefits of soccer can be life-changing to so many. A former child soldier in Uganda told him, “One game on that field, to me, is the same as five years in therapy.” He lives by Nelson Mandela's words: "Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to unite in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination.”