The Chicago Fire have earned a global honor for their work in the local community, landing the Community Award at the Leaders Sports Awards in London, England. The club was honored for the P.L.A.Y.S. Program (Participate, Learn, Achieve, Youth Soccer), cited as the top community program from work being done in over 15 countries.
"It is an honor to see the Fire's contributions to the community recognized at the Leaders Sports Awards," said Chicago Fire owner and chairman Andrew Hauptman in a team statement. "On behalf of everyone involved with the Chicago Fire, we are extremely proud of the P.L.A.Y.S. Program, as well as our extensive community engagement efforts. We are committed to helping transform the lives of youth from all walks of life and will continue to always try to make a positive impact in the neighborhoods of our great city."
P.L.A.Y.S. is the signature program of the Chicago Fire Foundation, works to support underserved youth in Chicago through sports-based programming. The program seeks to address the lack of after-school programming for many children, and to improve academic performance in the Chicago public schools.
