Story By: Wyatt Smith
BIRMINGHAM Ala. — Birmingham Legion FC, a soccer club in downtown Birmingham, celebrated its first Education Day match on Sept. 17 and Legion FC management says its a huge success. Their education day match allowed students to attend the match and get lunch for $15 and over 5,100 fans came to the match with a season record for attendance.
When thinking about possible reasons to come to the match Legion gave plenty, the game – the lunch, time away from class – but many parents who attended the match had more to thank Legion for.
A 2019 study by the Pew Research Center shows that 23% of children live in homes with at least one absent parent. This can often result in the child being less cared for due to their parents having to work or take care of other siblings. This has led to many children growing up without a father or mother to lean on in times of need.
With so many children growing up with single parents, the time they get to spend with the mom or dad becomes so important. Legion’s Education Day match was the perfect opportunity for Brittni Scott and many more parents to have these critical moments with their children.
“As a kid, you start looking in the crowd for your person that’s there,” she said, “so it’s really important to show up for them.”
“It’s really important to show up for them.” – Brittni Scott
And many parents echo this sentiment. The Legion match gave them an opportunity to be there for their children and gave the students a break from school.
At the event students were able to play with an interactive green screen from WBRC 6 and a geology booth from the McWane Center.
Due to the success of the event, Birmingham Legion plan to host an Education Day match every year.
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