The Lighthouse Soccer Foundation, Inc., was created to address the issues of insuring that Floridians are provided an equal opportunity to benefit from participation in a team sport that promotes both independence and team spirit - soccer:
“To inspire and promote leadership, teamwork, self-confidence and self-expression through participation in soccer, promoting participation by the economically and physically disadvantaged, fostering health, physical fitness and educational opportunities and firmly implanting in the community the ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, integrity, courage, respect of authority and fun of sports.”
The Foundation is headed by Gary Walker, who is well recognized throughout the state of Florida and on both sides of the Atlantic as a person who has devoted most of his life to the promotion of the sport of soccer. Mr. Walker has obtained numerous coaching credentials and has studied under Bruce Arena, the former coach of the United States national soccer team. In an attempt to find an ongoing funding source to support soccer in the State of Florida, the Lighthouse Soccer Foundation succesfully completed the application process for the creation of a Florida specialty License Plate in 2005: "Support Soccer".
Photo left: Gary Walker with Jeff Tipping, Director of Coaching for NSCAA.
In 2009, The 'Support Soccer' tag ranked 58 out of 113, selling 6,131 tags. .
The following distributions are occurring on an ongoing basis:
Twenty percent to the Florida Youth Soccer Association for programs and services that foster the physical, mental, and emotional growth and development of Florida's youth through the sport of soccer at all levels of age and competition, including a portion to be determined by the Florida Youth Soccer Association for the TOPSoccer program to promote participation by the physically and mentally disadvantaged.
Ten percent to the Florida State Soccer Association to promote the sport of soccer and the long-term development of the sport."FSSA Soccer - your game for life!"
Twenty percent as grants for programs that promote participation by the economically disadvantaged and to support soccer programs where none previously existed.
Ten percent as grants for programs that promote and support the construction of fields and soccer-specific infrastructure.
Ten percent as grants for programs that foster and promote health, physical fitness, and educational opportunities through soccer.
The Florida State Soccer Association (FSSA) is the official governing body representing U.S. Soccer in the State of Florida . It is a representative body composed of soccer officials throughout the State dedicated to act in the best interests of the sport. FSSA provides a statewide network of affiliated leagues, statewide tournaments, access to national tournaments through affiliation with the US Adult Soccer Association, player accident insurance, liability insurance for member leagues, player development, coaching development, referee development, step-by-step assistance in forming new local leagues, access to FSSA’s network of certified referees and assignors.
FSSA’s mission is to promote is to promote physical fitness and administer the game of soccer in all its United States Soccer Federation approved forms, be it outdoor or indoor, among men and women eighteen years of age and over within the State of Florida and to manage all intrastate games leading to National Cups and to support training of coaches, referees and players.
The Florida Classic (formerly the Disney Classic) will be hosted by FSSA January 14-17 (MLK weekend). There will be a 3 game minimum ($725 entrance fee per team) and will have Men's Open, Women's, Coed, Men's O30, Men's O35, Men's O40, Men's O45, Men's O50, Men's O55. CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION or contact FSSA President Arthur Mattson at (863) 640 4040 or by EMAIL.
CONGRATULATIONS to 2010 FSSA State Cup Champions:
Florida Cup - Kickers Premier (Florida Suncoast Soccer League); President's Cup - Everton FC (Hispano Americana Soccer League); Chairman's Cup - Aztecs 2 (Florida Suncoast Soccer League); Over 30 Cup - Kickers Scotland Yard (Florida Suncoast Soccer League); Over 40 Cup - Galactics Pirates (Florida Suncoast Soccer League); Over 50 Cup - Fox & Hound (Gold Coast Soccer League); Coed Cup - Lakeland United (Lakeland Adult Soccer Organization).
The Florida Youth Soccer Association (FYSA) is a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to fostering the physical, mental and emotional growth and development of Florida 's youth through the sport of soccer at all levels of age and competition. FYSA's job is also to make it fun and instill a lifelong passion for the sport in young players.
FYSA will be transitioning soon to new software (Got Soccer) for registration, team and club management. There are some differences in terms and process with the Got Soccer software and what FYSA currently uses. Since the process of registering and rostering will be slightly different, FYSA has a timeline and terms to help during this transition.
After the conclusion of the State Cup Finals on May 23, 2010, all players are now “free agents” and will be able to contact other clubs or be contacted by other clubs regarding tryouts and registration for the 2010-2011 seasonal year. However, the players will still remain rostered to their current 2009-2010 teams.
After June 1, 2010, clubs began try outs for the 2010-2011 seasonal year. All players will still remain rostered to their 2009-2010 team, with no change in status.
After June 1, 2010, players and coaches can be added to the Got Soccer team building section, and information as well as birth certificates can be uploaded. Players and coaches will not be registered or rostered for 2010-2011 at that time; their status will be “Inactive”, but the data will be in place to prepare for the rostering process for the 2010-2011 seasonal year.
Between June 1 and July 15, 2010, all currently rostered players will remain on their 2009-2010 roster, even if they decide to change teams for the 2010-2011 season. Only players who during this period plan to participate in an FYSA-sanctioned tournament will need to ask for a release from their current team allowing them to be registered to their new team for 2009-2010 participation. As an alternative, the player can also ask for guest play permission and remain on their current team.
On July 15, 2010, all players will become “Inactive” in the current FYSA database and will not appear as registered or rostered. This is when FYSA will complete the system change to Got Soccer. Clubs may then place players on rosters for the 2010-2011 seasonal year. NOTE: Passes and rosters for the 2010-2011 teams, while available on July 15, will not be valid until August 1, 2010, and cannot be used in any league or tournament event. Leagues and tournaments must accept 2009-2010 credentials only during this time. Those few players who did not register or request a transfer prior to July 1, 2010, must have their pass and roster placement prepared in the FYSA office.
On or after July 15, 2010, coaches and players may be placed on rosters for the 2010-2011 seasonal year. Clubs must notify coaches of their risk management obligation. Once the coaches comply, they can be placed on rosters. Passes and rosters will be available for the 2010-2011 season at this time. On August 1, 2010, all teams should be using the 2010-2011 season rosters and passes as 2009-2010 passes will no longer be valid.
The 2010 FYSA Annual General Meeting and Workshop (AGM) will be held July 23-25, 2010 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida. For more information CLICK HERE
TOPSoccer (The Outreach Program for Soccer) is a community-based training and team placement program for young athletes with disabilities, organized by youth soccer association volunteers. The program is designed to bring the opportunity of learning and playing soccer to any boy or girl, age 5 and up, who has a mental or physical disability.
TOPsoccer's goal is to enable the thousands of young athletes with disabilities to become valued and successful members of Florida Youth Soccer and the US Youth Soccer family.
The Lighthouse Soccer Foundation, Inc. was created to address the issues of insuring that Floridians are provided an equal opportunity to benefit from participation in a team sport that promotes both independence and team spirit - soccer. The underlying principle of the organization is access to the sport for everyone, regardless of economic, racial, or physical ability. Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.
Join our team - team work wins! Get behind soccer in Florida and show your support by proudly displaying the soccer tag on your vehicle. Together we can make a difference!
FUNDING FOR GRANTS IS DIRECTLY DEPENDENT UPON SALES OF 'SUPPORT SOCCER' SPECIALTY LICENSE PLATES. GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR FY2010-11 ARE NOW AVAILABLE, PLEASE CONTACT LSF FOR AN APPLICATION. As of July 1, 2010, 2,807 'Support Soccer' specialty plates have been sold in 2010, which amounts to approximately $70,000.00 and provides approximately $28,000.00 available for grants to support soccer in Florida so far this year.
The Foundation has included among its grantees the entire spectrum of soccer organizations from economically and physically disadvantaged individuals, to small rural clubs looking to start soccer programs, to city and statewide programs and for referees and coaches.With your support, we can all help support soccer in Florida!
JOIN THE TEAM
LIGHTHOUSE SOCCER FOUNDATION, INC. PO BOX 31326, PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL 33420, Tel: (561) 252-6729; Fax: (561) 691-5733 www.SoccerForAll.org
The Foundation is headed by Gary Walker, who is well recognized throughout the state of Florida and on both sides of the Atlantic as a person who has devoted most of his life to the promotion of the sport of soccer. Mr. Walker has obtained numerous coaching credentials and has studied under Bruce Arena, the former coach of the United States national soccer team. In an attempt to find an ongoing funding source to support soccer in the State of Florida, the Lighthouse Soccer Foundation succesfully completed the application process for the creation of a Florida specialty License Plate in 2005: "Support Soccer".
The following distributions are occurring on an ongoing basis: 
The Florida State Soccer Association (FSSA) is the official governing body representing U.S. Soccer in the State of Florida . It is a representative body composed of soccer officials throughout the State dedicated to act in the best interests of the sport. FSSA provides a statewide network of affiliated leagues, statewide tournaments, access to national tournaments through affiliation with the 
TOPSoccer (The Outreach Program for Soccer) is a community-based training and team placement program for young athletes with disabilities, organized by youth soccer association volunteers. The program is designed to bring the opportunity of learning and playing soccer to any boy or girl, age 5 and up, who has a mental or physical disability. 
LIGHTHOUSE SOCCER FOUNDATION, INC. PO BOX 31326, PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL 33420, Tel: (561) 252-6729; Fax: (561) 691-5733 
