Please join the Madison Police Department Amigos en Azul at a FREE weekly soccer event for kids ages 6-16 at Penn Park on Madison’s south side. The event is a collaboration between Centro Hispano, Nehemiah and the Madison Police Department.
 
“The program is building week to week,” said Sgt. Rahaman, member of the Amigos en Azul. “The second week we had a lot of younger kids come out, so we had two fields going at once.”
 
The third event is this Saturday, August 1st at Penn Park (2101 Fisher St., Madison, WI) with the final event on August 8th. Parents must register their child each week; registration begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 10 a.m. All necessary equipment will be provided at no cost. If your child has equipment, please bring it for their use.
 
 “The benefits are two-fold: by having this day-long event in the park, we deter negative behaviors that affect quality of life in the neighborhood,” said Rahaman. “Secondly, this event allows officers and kids to interact, breaking down those barriers that keep residents from seeing how similar and human we are.”
 
Besides soccer, the events also feature awards and opportunities to win prizes such as a trip to watch the Chicago Fire Soccer Club play.
 
Each week children have played children in their own age group, but last week officers were asked by the children to play in a “Police vs. Kids” game. While officers won last week’s game, Sgt. Rahim Rahaman said the competition was strong.
 
“I was sore the next day,” said Sgt. Rahim Rahaman, who played goalie alongside event organizer Officer Mike Alvarez for a group of younger children. “The kids were very good, not only on the fields but off. I’ve volunteered for years and this event is something special, hopefully it continues.”
 
Amigos en Azul is composed of City of Madison and Dane County area police officers dedicated to dissolving cultural barriers, building partnerships and opening lines of communication between the Latino community and the City of Madison Police Department in partnership with Dane county area Law Enforcement.
 
Questions? Contact Centro Hispano at 608-255-3018 or log on to the Amigos en Azul Facebook page.