Vote for Chester-based Design FC for MLS Community MVP

Swarthmore College student Omri Gal is one of 24 finalists for MLS Community MVP for the after-school program he started for fifth-and sixth-graders at Stetser Elementary School in Chester.

Gal, a Brooklyn native who played soccer at Swarthmore, started the after-school program, known as Design FC, last year in partnership with Chester-Upland Youth Soccer. Philadelphia Union midfielder Warren Creavalle ended up getting involved in the program after meeting Gal during a shoot for an episode of Calen Carr’s The Movement and hung out with the kids weekly and supported them through the process of designing their own jerseys.

Swarthmore students and men’s soccer teammates Ayo George and Luke Neureiter and Widener student Noah Smeriglio are also involved in the program.

As a finalist for the MLS Community MVP, Gal is receiving $1,000 for the program and a trip to the All-Star Game in Orlando. He’s also in the running for a grand prize of $25,000, which is being decided by fan voting on Twitter and at MLSsoccer.com/CommunityMVP.

Voting closes at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 31. The grand prize winner will be announced at the game on Wednesday night.

Matthew Ralph

Matthew Ralph is the managing editor of Philadelphia Soccer Now. He's covered soccer at all levels for a decade in the Philadelphia region and has also written for TheCup.us, NPSL, PrepSoccer and other publications. He lives with his wife and two young children in Broomall, Pa., but grew up in South Jersey and is originally from Kansas.

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