Grassroot Soccer Brings Mental Health Programming to the UN Lawn

Just two days before the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup final, Grassroot Soccer was honored to take part in the United Nations Youth Office’s “One World, One Game, One Goal” event at U.N. Headquarters in New York City. 

The event convened youth advocates, changemakers, policymakers, and leaders from the public and private sectors to celebrate the power of soccer as a scalable and inclusive tool to promote youth mental health and well-being around the world.

As part of the event, the Grassroot Soccer team was on hand to lead youth through soccer-based mental health activities from our MindSKILLZ curriculum on the U.N.’s North Lawn. The activation helped bring to life the event’s message championing soccer as a powerful catalyst for mental health, inclusion, and well-being.

Together with Laureus Sport for Good, Movember, New York SCORES, and Special Olympics, Grassroot Soccer helped transform the U.N. lawn into the “Football for Well-Being Field” for the day. The Field created a space for fun and creative activities for youth to practice teamwork, discuss ways to cope with stress, and learn about adapting to change in an active and accessible way. Additionally, a free-play drop-in area created further opportunities for connection, and the session wrapped up with a reflective group huddle where participants shared their takeaways and experiences.

Thank you to Laureus and the UN Youth Office for leveraging a pivotal moment in the build-up to the biggest match in world soccer and turning it into a powerful one for youth mental health and well-being.