UNIFUT

Lexington Unifut Soccer Club is a non-profit organization that exists to provide athletic, recreational, and competitive opportunities for people ages U4-U19 in the Lexington, Nebraska area to learn and enjoy the game of soccer. Over 385 kids are impacted positively each year.

Unifut strives to provide quality coaching at a price point where everyone can have the opportunity to participate and grow as an athlete and a person. Our players travel all across the state, nation, and soon internationally, where they become Ambassadors of our Community, which allows them to display the incredible diversity of our community.

Lexington's soccer presence has been growing among children and adults over many years, and to many, Lexington is considered a "soccer town." Our high school soccer teams have had more than a dozen trips to the state tournament, largely due to the establishment and growth of the Unifut Club over the years, and its high-level coaching, competitive programs, and successful player development. Unifut provides a unique opportunity for players to receive training from licensed coaches at recreational prices. Our players have gone on to play at top NAIA, NJCAA, DI, and Professional programs.

• The incredible impact Unifut has on our youth is apparent in the 12 current competitive teams that include 185 players. This includes both girl's and boy's teams. We also offer our 'Local League,' which is an option for those players who do not or cannot commit to our competitive program but still want to play. This is put on twice a year and adds another 200 players.

Our cost to players is on average 80% less than the other top clubs in the state, yet we are able to compete and win top competitions in the state. We rely on donations to help purchase equipment, offset travel costs, and fund future projects.

We also have our Brian Mejia-Paxtor 5v5 Memorial Tournament that raised $5,000 in scholarships for Lexington Graduates. Both a male and a female student received $2,500 in 2024.

Money raised will help pay for:

• VEO Live and Analytics (2 cameras) - $3,000 annually
• Verizon Mifis x2 - $135 monthly - $1,620 annually
• Auto Insurance - $1,300 annually
• Auto Registration - $1,000
• Quickbooks - $330 annually
• Total: $7,250

Other items we are looking to raise money for:

• Paint to wrap our Unifut van with a design to showcase our club and community
• Pair of 8'x24' goals ($6,000): These will be placed on one of the fields along 13th Street at the Optimist Sports Complex
• Storage addition to the Optimist Sports Complex Hitting Facility for UNIFUT to store equipment. This is a partner project with the City of Lexington to build onto the south side of the hitting facility

The funds that were raised in 2023 helped fund:

• All annual operating costs (Veo, Vehicles, Quickbooks, Verizon)
  • This helps eliminate the need to raise the cost to play to our players
• 1 pair of 7'x21' goals that are at the Optimist Field Complex
  • This will be used for training and 9v9 Nebraska Youth Soccer League games
• Training equipment for our travel teams and our local recreational leagues such as balls, cones, and pinnies
• Ref Registration and Training costs for participants 13-17 years old
  • These certified referees are sanctioned by US Soccer, and will be able to officiate games here in Lexington, and anywhere else in the USA. This helps reduce the travel necessary to play NYSL Games.