Why a soccer ball with bells inside is helping us live out a 50-year mission
At the Anthony R. Abraham Foundation, we have always believed that a life lived for others is a life worth living. It is the conviction our founders, Anthony and Genevieve Abraham, built their work upon nearly five decades ago, and it is the one that still guides every decision we make today. Lately, that belief has led us somewhere we never expected: a soccer pitch.
More specifically, it has led us to blind soccer — a fast, fearless, and deeply human version of the world’s most popular sport, played by athletes who cannot see the ball but can hear it. A small set of bells sealed inside lets them track its every movement. What follows is a game of remarkable speed, precision, and trust.
A Movement Bigger Than a Game
For the first time in history, the United States is building its own Paralympic Blind Soccer team, set to make its debut on home soil at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. We are proud to stand at the heart of that effort. Earlier this year, the Foundation committed one million dollars to help launch America’s first-ever Paralympic Blind Soccer team — a step toward greater visibility, inclusion, and opportunity through sport.
But for our Chairman, Thomas A. Abraham, who serves as the first-ever Sports Ambassador for USA Blind Soccer, the goal reaches well beyond the scoreboard. As he put it recently on the world stage:
“This movement is bigger than blindness. It is bigger than disability. It is about every human being the world has chosen not to see.”
That sentiment sits at the very center of who we are. Whether through education, the arts, medical research, or sport, our work has always been about empowering the lives of the suffering, the hopeless, and the forgotten — and reminding the world that no one deserves to be overlooked.
Building It Close to Home
Change of this scale begins in communities. Alongside partners like Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, we have watched young people — some only a few years old — step onto a pitch for the first time and discover a confidence that follows them off the field. A new mini-pitch, a growing roster of credentialed coaches, and a steady stream of children eager to play: these are the quiet milestones that make the larger dream possible.
Each of these moments reflects the same simple idea our founders carried from the start. When you give people the chance to be seen — truly seen — you give them the chance to rise.
Join Us
There is room in this movement for everyone. You can follow the journey of Team USA as it builds toward 2028, learn more about the athletes redefining what is possible, and help us champion those the world has not yet learned to see. Because when the world’s greatest game can see these athletes, the world can, too.
