Bay Area student chosen to walk out World Cup players for pre-match ceremonies
Nothing makes Giselle Avelar happier than being on the soccer field.
The fourth-grader from San Rafael discovered her passion for soccer after she saw her older sister play, and decided that she would give the sport a try herself. From the second she stepped out onto the field, she was hooked.
"(I love) the happiness I see on my teammates faces, and the passing, making goals, everything about it," Avelar said.
Avelar is a part of an extracurricular program run by America SCORES Bay Area, a nonprofit that allows students to learn and play the sport of soccer, as well as honing some of their academic skills through poetry. Her family hails from El Salvador, and her father Oscar has loved the sport of soccer since he was a young child.
But for many Bay Area families, playing soccer is a luxury that is out of reach. Many club teams around the Bay Area charge upwards of $3,000 per year in club fees, plus uniform costs, making year-round soccer out of the question for working families.
America SCORES allows children to play regardless of their family's ability to pay those high costs or travel.
America SCORES Bay Area Executive Director Colin Schmidt says the organization was founded after the 1994 FIFA World Cup. It was the last time the tournament was held in the United States, and is broadly credited with popularizing the sport in America.
"After the '94 World Cup we had five schools and 150 kids," Schmidt said. "Fast forward to today, 32 years later to the 2026 World Cup — in the Bay Area we're at 180 schools with about 7,000 kids. We could fill a stadium with the people that we've touched."
America SCORES Bay Area was tasked with selecting 11 of its Bay Area players for a chance to participate in the Quaker Player Escort Program. Quaker and Common Goal partnered to find young people all over the country to escort players onto the pitch during pre-match ceremonies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
SCORES wanted to highlight some of its exemplary student athletes, and told Giselle that she would be one of the lucky young people walking hand-in-hand with the players ahead of Thursday's group stage matchup between Paraguay and Australia at Levi's Stadium.
"I was so in shock," Avelar said. "I was excited but also like nervous at the same time because of the camera and just everybody looking at me in the middle of the field, standing next to the best soccer player ever."
Avelar's father and her family are planning to watch Giselle on television at the beginning of the match Thursday, and said they were honored that she would be given such a unique opportunity.
"My kid walking in that field is going to be like the greatest experience," said her father, Oscar Avelar. "We are just going to be so happy for her and our friends and family who are watching are going to be happy for her too."
The match kicks off Thursday at 7:00 p.m. PST.
