{"id":2575,"date":"2026-05-23T00:04:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T00:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/supports\/?p=2575"},"modified":"2026-06-11T00:07:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T00:07:00","slug":"common-goal-and-e-motion-expand-create-the-space-with-backing-from-oak-foundation-and-fox-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/supports\/common-goal-and-e-motion-expand-create-the-space-with-backing-from-oak-foundation-and-fox-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Goal and E-Motion Expand Create the Space with Backing from Oak Foundation and FOX Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This story was originally posted on\u00a0Common-Goal.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to a growing crisis of care, Common Goal and E-Motion are teaming up for the next phase of Create the Space \u2013 a mental and emotional health initiative designed to transform teams and organizations into communities of care.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the next three years, Create the Space will bring accessible tools and strategies directly to organizational leaders and program practitioners working in vulnerable communities across North America and the Caribbean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With multi-year support from\u00a0Oak Foundation,\u00a0and\u00a0with continued backing from Create the Space founding partners FOX Sports and its parent company Fox Corporation, the new phase kicked-off with the launch of an\u00a0Organizational Leaders Cohort that brought together ten soccer for good organizations from the Common Goal Community to learn, share experiences and embed practical systems of care within their teams and communities. These organizations work across\u00a0Canada, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico\u00a0and the United States of America.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiative reflects a clear point of view: while clinical mental health services remain essential, the systems around young people every day \u2013 teams, schools and communities \u2013 must also become spaces that actively support wellbeing.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the ten-week programme, organizational leaders took part in a blended learning experience combining digital learning, facilitated workshops and small-group coaching.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cohort was built around E-Motion\u2019s grief-conscious and movement-based\u00a0methodology, supporting leaders to integrate coping practices and relational approaches into their daily environments. The goal was for football for good organizations to identify opportunities to strengthen their work through access to resources, tools and knowledge\u2014 helping them transform trusted teams and organizational spaces into more intentional communities of care, where young people, coaches and staff feel supported both on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, these leaders have already increased their knowledge and readiness to embed care into their work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

100% of cohort members feel ready to respond to loss<\/strong> with care rather than urgency to fix.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

64% of cohort members increased their readiness to respond to community hardship<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

71% of cohort members feel more equipped to support coaches and staff in navigating mental and emotional wellbeing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiative\u00a0is taking these steps against the backdrop of a\u00a0nationwide shortage of mental health professionals across the United States, including just one school\u00a0counselor\u00a0for every 376 public school students. Across the Common Goal Community, organizations had consistently reported rising mental health needs among the young people they serve, and 73% of school\u00a0counselors\u00a0say student mental health is the top demand on their time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe vastness of the mental health crisis we are facing requires us to not only look to healthcare systems for solutions,\u201d said Common Goal Chief Executive Officer Mary Connor<\/strong>. \u201cTeams have so many of the right ingredients to increase protective factors for mental health while also supporting coping and resilience in the face of challenges. This program invites organizations to integrate care practices at every level \u2013 on the pitch, on the\u00a0sidelines and in their organization \u2013 to\u00a0literally create\u00a0the space for mental and emotional wellness.”\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This approach recognises that many communities today are carrying layers of collective grief \u2013 shaped by structural inequities, displacement, violence, the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing global crises. Through sport, Create the Space aims to equip organizations with practices that help individuals and communities process loss, strengthen connection and build resilience together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, FOX Sports embedded stories of mental health and inclusion into its World Cup coverage, furthering its commitment as the first and only national FIFA World Cup\u00e4\u00a0broadcaster to take Common Goal\u2019s 1% pledge and dedicate a\u00a0portion\u00a0of its World Cup airtime to advancing the Common Goal mission. The award-winning collaboration with the U.S. Women\u2019s National Team sent a powerful message: vulnerability is a sign of strength, not weakness. Since then, the partnership has supported efforts to move the conversation from awareness to action.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith Create the Space, I hope soccer can continue becoming a more inclusive, empathetic and supportive space. I think the game already has that power, but it\u2019s about asking how we can help even one young person feel safer, seen or supported. Because of how much time players spend with teammates and coaches, soccer can have a real impact \u2014 especially for young people who may not have that support elsewhere,\u201d said USWNT defender Naomi Girma<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Athletes continue to play an important role in the initiative. As part of this next chapter of Create the Space, an audio series<\/u><\/a> featuring athletes who have been vocal advocates for mental health in football and deeply connected to the topic through their own experiences was developed. Contributors including women\u2019s soccer players Girma<\/strong>, Becky Sauerbrunn<\/strong>, Jessie Fleming<\/strong>, Meghan Klingenberg<\/strong>, Vivianne Miedema<\/strong>, Jasmyne Spencer<\/strong>, Ann Cook<\/strong>\u00a0and FOX Sports soccer analyst and former U.S. Men\u2019s National Team player Stu Holden<\/strong> have shared personal reflections and experiences related to mental health to help engage staff, coaches and young people around key topics explored throughout the cohort.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt its best, soccer already holds so much of what we need to take care of ourselves and each other. Our partnership with Common Goal gave us the opportunity to elevate athlete voices that are honest, deeply human, and willing to speak to the parts of life we don\u2019t talk about enough. As the world gathers around the game, we hope this series becomes a source of steadiness and connection for anyone who needs the reminder that they are not alone,\u201d said Myra Sack<\/strong>, Founder & Executive Director at E-motion.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their voices help bridge the professional and grassroots levels of the game, reinforcing that care, vulnerability and leadership are shared responsibilities across the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFOX Sports is proud to deepen its support of Create the Space<\/em> and the meaningful work Common Goal and E-Motion are doing to advance mental and emotional wellbeing through the power of sport,\u201d said Terri Hines<\/strong>, Executive Vice President, FOX Sports. \u201cThis next phase reflects a shared belief that the game can be a catalyst for care, connection and lasting impact beyond the pitch.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiative demonstrates how soccer for good organizations can evolve into recognized hubs for mental health support, influencing wider practices across youth and community sports. While soccer inherently fosters wellbeing through movement, mentorship, and joy, true psychological safety must be intentionally modelled and embedded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create the Space is designed to make these practices visible and replicable across the industry. By uniting philanthropy, media leadership, and grassroots expertise, this collective approach shows what is possible when every level of the sport\u2014from broadcast studios to community pitches\u2014moves as one to prioritize mental health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about the participating Common Goal Community organizations: Football for Her<\/a>, Football for the World<\/a>, GOALS Haiti<\/a>, M\u00e1s\u00a0Sue\u00f1os\u00a0AC<\/a>, Open Field<\/a>, Project GOAL<\/a>, R\u00eaves\u00a0Passion Montr\u00e9al<\/a>, Safe-Hub Philadelphia<\/a>, Street Soccer USA Los Angeles<\/a>, Urban Initiatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This story was originally posted on\u00a0Common-Goal.org. In response to a growing crisis of care, Common Goal and E-Motion are teaming up for the next phase of Create the Space \u2013 a mental and emotional health initiative designed to transform teams and organizations into communities of care.   Over the next three years, Create the Space will bring accessible tools and strategies directly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2456,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[140,184,185],"class_list":["post-2575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press","tag-common-goal","tag-create-the-space","tag-mental-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/supports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/supports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/supports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/supports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/supports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2575"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/supports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2576,"href":"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/supports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2575\/revisions\/2576"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/supports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/supports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/supports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/supports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}