Showcase and Travel Fund

The College Showcase and Travel Fund was established to provide financial assistance to deserving boys and girls on high school teams that may require financial assistance to attend college showcase events, ID clinics and camps, regional and national championships, ODP or other events which enable them to showcase their talents to college coaches.

Please consider a tax-deductible contribution to this fund.

One team's story:

Manhattan Soccer Club Paris Saint-Germain 96

From humble beginnings to National Powerhouse

They travel to soccer practice from the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, many taking a bus, a train, and then walking over bridges. Some have journeyed much farther than that in their short lives, from England or escaping with their families from political strife and economic uncertainty in countries such as the Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Colombia, coming to New York, like so many immigrants before them, seeking safety, freedom, or simply a better life. They are black, white, and Hispanic. Twenty two teenagers, from 22 different backgrounds, all united in their love of the beautiful game, their team, Manhattan Soccer Club Paris Saint-Germain 96 (“Manhattan PSG96”), and their maverick coach, Wilson Egidio.

Egidio grew up in Brazil and played soccer for Pele’s former club, Santos FC, before coming to the states to continue his professional playing career and then turn to coaching. He helped form the Manhattan Soccer Club with the goal of scouting talented youngsters, regardless of economic circumstances—searching them out not only at club tryouts but on city playgrounds and wherever kids were kicking a soccer ball around—and giving them the chance to join teams where they could sharpen their skills, display their natural playing styles, and shine on the field.

Over the past seven years, Manhattan PSG96 has grown from a local youth travel team to a nationally-ranked powerhouse.  They now travel to places like Dallas, Las Vegas, and Charlotte, North Carolina to compete against the best teams from all over the U.S. and abroad.  In 2014, they plan to visit Brazil as part of youth soccer tour to coincide with the World Cup. Many of these tournaments will provide players with the opportunity to be seen by college coaches who can award them scholarships, the only way some will be able to attend college. All of these tournaments enable Manhattan PSG96 to achieve three simple goals:

• To compete at the highest levels in youth soccer.

• To provide opportunities for student-athletes of all backgrounds.

• To create a better community through positive mentoring.

By supporting the Manhattan Soccer Club Showcase and Travel Fund you help deserving players from PSG96 and other MSC teams who strive to play in college and take their soccer - and their education - to the next level.

Click on this link to contribute to the College Showcase and Travel Fund.

Thank you for your generosity!