Chester Union benefit from Liverpool Foundation visit

It’s typically a no-no to wear any sort of red on Union’s training grounds. But Monday morning was a very welcomed exception.

The Philadelphia Union Foundation hosted Liverpool FC Foundation to benefit the no-cost Chester Union soccer program at WSFS Sportsplex Monday morning. Liverpool Foundation staff members worked with Chester Union players ages 19 and under free of cost.

“We were really fortunate,” said Alyssa Radu, Director of Charitable Programs and Operations with the Philadelphia Union Foundation. Radu, a former player and current coach, wasted no time in structuring an opportunity to benefit the Chester Union program and players. 

The Chester Union is a philanthropic soccer club for Chester boys and girls of all ages and it is one of the Union Foundation’s newer initiatives.

“We have a no cost soccer program that we’re developing here in Chester, we launched about six months ago,” said Radu. “We’ve gone from zero to 170 kids, and we’re putting them on teams to give them an opportunity to play for free and introduce them to the beautiful game.”

The Union Foundation has donated funds to reserve one of the WSFS Sportsplex fields for training nights every Friday and Saturday night for Chester Union players to attend. But Monday morning’s training session was a bit more exciting.

For Radu, it was a rewarding site to see so many Chester Union players sharing the field and playing at one time. And Liverpool played a major role.

“Whenever the football club go on the preseason tour, we don’t like to just go into an area and play and go,” said Matt Parish, CEO of Liverpool Football Foundation. “The club has always been great about bringing the whole club. You’ll see fan events and you’ll see different community activations, but that includes the foundation.”

According to Radu, roughly 500 youngsters from throughout the Delaware Valley will have opportunities to train and learn from Liverpool staff and former players through Wednesday in Chester. The partnership is a first of its kind since Radu joined the foundation a year ago.

“In the last five years [the Foundation] has really grown, but in the last year, our initiatives have really just taken off and so it is exciting, but it can be challenging,” said Radu.

Some of those challenges revolve around access to the sport. Primarily costs. But with a no-cost program, Chester athletes now have a renewed pathway to engage with the sport, the club, and the foundation.

“There’s a thirst for kids, and they want to play,” said Radu. “This is our community. The Union made a decision 15 years ago to come into Chester and soccer is our magnet.”

Parish mentioned the importance of connecting with like-minded organizations when they make arrangements involving community engagement.

“We want to try and work with like minded organizations and do a little bit of what we do at home here,” said Parish. “And then I think the flip side of that is, look out for these guys. Look out for Philadelphia Union. I know that they are relatively newly formed and looking to grow, sounds like they’re doing some amazing stuff. And I think that that can only be beneficial.”

As for what’s next for the Union Foundation and their Chester Union initiative, well a return to high school soccer seems like it may have the momentum to come to fruition this fall.

“The plan is to have them play in some tournaments, and we have our U19 group that will play in the high school league,” said Radu. “We have eight games. We’re really excited to be able to play the first PIAA season game. And we’re going to get to play two games here under the lights here at WSFS, which will be really good for these kids.”

Chester Union U19 will represent Chester High School in the upcoming season if things continue to progress as planned. Their home field is located at STEM Academy, which the Union Foundation maintains and operates. Players are pooled from Chester High, STEM, and the Chester Charter Scholars Academy school.

Recently, the U19 team competed in a winter league at YSC Academy in Wayne, PA via transportation provided by Union Foundation. Despite having a few team members playing soccer for the first time ever, they achieved a semi-final appearance, a feat the Foundation and the team were very proud of.

In addition to the plans for the U19 team, Radu and the Foundation also have plans for younger age groups as well.

“We’re going to have a U12 team play in our Commodore Cup here at WSFS Sportsplex,” said Radu. “And in 2025 we will start to get them into leagues. It’s kind of like a slow crawl.”

With exciting plans on the horizon for Chester Union, you may be wondering how you can help. The Union Foundation are actively looking for those interested in coaching and obtaining coaching licenses.

Head to philadelphiaunionfoundation.org to learn more. And if you’d like to support the Chester Union initiative directly, check out their merchandise at chesterunion.org/store.