BLCI – El Cajon, formerly the nonprofit YALLA, was acquired in September 2018 and serves 85 students in elementary and middle School.  

This site focuses on academics as well as building competitive soccer skills. Students participate in tutoring and workshops, and once they meet those requirements, they attend soccer practice with their peers.  

We start in elementary school with youth from Iraq, Sudan, Guatemala, El Salvador, Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Mexico. We utilize state of the art education technology to build a strong literacy and math foundation. Our soccer coaches promote physical activity, healthy living, and good decision making, while cultivating caring, trust-based relationships with the youth we serve.  

At BLCI – El Cajon, “Soccer is the hook. College is the goal.” Staff combine the promise of education and the passion of soccer to inspire refugee, immigrant and first-generation to college youth to achieve a college education.

Thank you to Rick Itzkowich for supporting the El Cajon Soccer Program for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years!