Scoring goals for financial literacy

(FOX Providence) - The World Cup kicks off later this week and the folks at the Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition have found a way to combine soccer and financial literacy.

In addition to an event next Saturday at the Wide World of Indoor Sports , they are encouraging people to play Visa’s Financial Soccer Game online.

Steve Votolato, President of Rhode Island Soccer, joined The Rhode Show to talk about these efforts.

How did Rhode Island Soccer get involved in this effort?

We are partnering with the Jump$tart Coalition to promote this program designed to reach students and parents in an interesting way with a message about the importance of financial literacy. It’s important to make sure young people are getting the skills they need to succeed in an environment where financial products are getting more and more complicated. And what better way to do this than by combining the world’s most popular sport with a high-quality financial literacy curriculum.

Visa’s Financial Soccer is an online game. You can go to www.financialsoccer.com and it’s a great interactive site. Financial Soccer challenges players to answer fast-paced, multiple-choice money management questions correctly to advance down the field for a chance to score a goal. There are single player and head-to-head game play options. Visa’s been rolling out the game in over 25 countries in the months leading up to the 2010 World Cup and it’s a great way to capitalize on the excitement of this international competition and get young people playing the game and thinking about these issues.

We’re very excited to be involved in this effort. Soccer Rhode Island was established in 2000 and consists of approximately 23,000 players—both boys and girls—3,400 coaches and 800 referees spread throughout forty clubs and associations in the state. Our mission is to foster the physical, mental, and emotional growth and development of Soccer Rhode Island's youth through the sport of soccer at all levels of age, abilities, and competition.

What’s the event Saturday?

We’ve invited high school soccer players from all over the state to take part in a friendly competition, to play the video game and determine the Financial Soccer Rhode Island Cup champion. It’s going to be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Wide World of Indoor Sports in North Smithfield. Two high school players at the event will receive signed photos of US National Soccer Captain Landon Donovan.

If you can’t make it to the event Saturday, kids and families can log on to Financial Soccer all through the World Cup and play the game. It’s a great way to combines all that is great about soccer with the skills that are necessary to live a life of financial stability.