When you access the LAFC website and click the Foundation page, multi-digit numbers catch the eye. Number-based information such as more than 30,000 underprivileged youth and more than 40 futsal courts represents the concrete results the LAFC Foundation has contributed up to this very moment.
Today, we would like to talk about the philosophy and system by which those numbers — which Son Heung-min likely noticed — were made. Most corporate social contribution is generally carried out in the form of one-off events or the delivery of donations, based on the company's current situation. The LAFC Foundation chose an approach completely different from this flow. Under the mission of "changing lives through soccer," it plays the role of a sustainable social-change platform, consistently built.
LAFC, a Brand That Chose Good Inconvenience
This is the message of Toun28 CEO Park Jun-su, introduced on ESG.ONL a while ago. This message also connects to the LAFC Foundation's philosophy.
There was an easy path — holding dazzling donation events under the names of star players, or donating a large sum at once and receiving media attention. But LAFC chose "inconvenience." It creates and expands soccer communities for various local-community youth — the "Nicks Kids Soccer Program," a soccer program that meets 100 children in LA's Watts area every week; the LAFC So Cal Youth Program, in which about 4,000 young people participate in leagues and receive coaching; and the management and opening of more than 40 futsal courts benefiting more than 12,000 students year-round. Through this, it contributes to the healthy cooperation and growth of the local community. It is not easy. Every program is a continuation of inconvenient choices requiring continuous attention and investment.
[Participants of the "Nicks Kids Soccer Program" in the Watts area of LA © LAFC]
The result created by LAFC's such inconvenience is clear. Together with the global company "Chevron," with which it has partnered since 2018, it has newly refurbished 7 futsal courts to date. Most recently, it completed a new futsal court at Bud Carson Middle School in Hawthorne, donating an additional 10,000 dollars. Chevron's soccer-program manager Jenny Macintosh said, "Through our partnership with LAFC, we provide soccer to children through various programs year-round," adding, "this supports their growth on and off the field."
In fact, soccer-court refurbishments have been carried out across all of Southern California, including Chipman Junior High School in Bakersfield and several schools in Hawthorne. This functions not as mere facility improvement but as building social infrastructure that provides local youth with safe play spaces.
A Community System That Creates Motivation for Beneficiaries to Make Better Choices
The LAFC Foundation's point of differentiation lies in continuity. A representative example is the comprehensive service provided free of charge within schools through a partnership with "Beyond the Bell," an after-school program of the LA Unified School District. Howard Serpas, regional director of Beyond the Bell, explained, "Through the LAFC Foundation's support, children can access sports programming, gain opportunities to bring their families to matches, and invite pro players into the community." Such a partnership provides a win-win situation for both sides. It motivates children through programs and provides the resources they need in life, while LAFC can gain lifelong fans. The Nicks Kids Soccer Program, which focuses on the well-being of each child and aims to ensure that children are surrounded by positive people and a positive environment and guaranteed a positive future, has the potential to achieve the same effect. The LAFC So Cal Youth Program fosters youth soccer players and provides an environment of expertise for player development targeting local youth.
[The LAFC Foundation logo © LAFC]
John Gerard Thorrington, LAFC co-president and general manager, said, "The LAFC So Cal Youth partnership is very important to us," adding, "our club seeks to be a positive influence not only on the players already in the academy but on all youth players and parents in Southern California."
Because of this, the changes appearing in the educational field are even more concrete. Program participation leads not to mere contact with a soccer environment for youth but to change in the entire educational ecosystem. Teachers are confident of the course's popularity. They testify specifically that a single program changes the learning atmosphere of the whole school, raises teachers' educational effectiveness, and boosts students' learning motivation. This shows the "power of a brand that leads to better choices" that the LAFC Foundation pursues. It is not simply giving help but providing an environment and motivation for the community's beneficiaries to make better choices themselves.
[Recruitment for the fall 2025 "So Cal Youth Program" © LAFC]
The Results Made by Meaningful Inconvenience
Long-term partnerships more complex than one-off donations, everyday program operation beyond dazzling events, the pursuit of structural change rather than visible results — all are inconvenient choices requiring more time and effort. But the result of this — what LAFC gains — is clear: a beneficiary scale continuously expanding from 30,000, the 2024 Kevin Payne Community Impact Award, cooperation with 11 local pro teams through the LA84 Alliance program, and the choice of the global star Son Heung-min.
From a Korean's standpoint, it would be a shame to view Son Heung-min's choice of LAFC as a mere transfer. Evidence continues that Son Heung-min has an interest in social and community contribution through soccer, including his personal soccer classes. In that respect, we come to view, from an ESG standpoint, his transfer to LAFC — assessed as evolving into a sports organization that acts directly for society beyond simply playing soccer.
Son Heung-min's choice also aligns with the brand values that the MZ generation and Alpha generation demand — the trend of preferring brands that not only provide good products or services but also create social meaning and value together. To Son Heung-min, who seeks to be reborn not as a player who simply loves and is good at soccer but as a player who uses his influence for creating social value, LAFC can provide a perfect platform.
The LAFC Foundation's impact, reaching 30,000 people, is the result of trust and systems accumulated over seven years. It is the result of continuous action and a systemic approach that cannot be made with dazzling marketing or one-off events. What Son Heung-min discovered was precisely this point. Not charity dependent on individual goodwill, but a social-change infrastructure built at the organizational level, and a sustainable operating system supporting that infrastructure, will be with him.
by Editor L