{"id":244198,"date":"2026-04-10T22:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T22:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/244198\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T22:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T22:02:09","slug":"grow-the-game-initiative-expands-soccer-access-in-houston-ahead-of-the-world-cup-with-guinness-world-records-attempt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/244198\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Grow the Game\u2019 Initiative expands soccer access in Houston ahead of the World Cup with Guinness World Records attempt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Houston \u2013 With less than 100 days until the FIFA World Cup<\/a> kicks off in Houston, the excitement across the city is already building. This weekend, that energy is turning into action as the community comes together for a one-of-a-kind, record-breaking celebration at Hermann Park.<\/a><\/p>\n

Leading the charge is Laura Spanjian, a lifelong Houstonian and former city sustainability director who is now helping bring global initiatives back home as AirBnb\u2019s director of public policy and communications. She is working alongside local leaders, families, and athletes to create an event that is about more than just soccer. It is about investing in the future of Houston and making sure the next generation feels part of the moment.<\/p>\n

Houston Life’s Lauren Kelly and Airbnb’s Global Director of the Public Policy Laura Spanjian (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

On Saturday, hundreds of Houstonians will gather to attempt a Guinness World Record by lining up more than 1,000 soccer balls along the city\u2019s Green Corridor. But what happens after the record attempt is just as meaningful. Those soccer balls will be donated to local youth through the Grow the Game initiative, helping expand access to the sport across Houston.<\/p>\n

Grow the game initiative (Airbnb)<\/p>\n

The event will also feature appearances from soccer legend DaMarcus Beasley and other community voices, all coming together to celebrate the global game right here at home. It is part of a larger effort to build momentum ahead of the World Cup while creating lasting opportunities for local families and young athletes.<\/p>\n

All are welcome this weekend and encouraged to register here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Houston Life’s Lauren Kelly and Airbnb’s Global Director of the Public Policy Laura Spanjian (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Houston \u2013 With less than 100 days until the FIFA World Cup kicks off in Houston, the excitement…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":244199,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57,731,3692],"class_list":{"0":"post-244198","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-houston","9":"tag-houston-headlines","10":"tag-houston-news","11":"tag-soccer","12":"tag-world-cup"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}