Founder, The 91st
love for the
game.
I grew up in Mali, West Africa, where soccer was not a hobby. It was life. Every day, from the moment school ended until the sun went down, I was on the pitch. Soccer was how I understood the world, how I built friendships, and how I dreamed.
When I moved to Utah to attend Utah Valley University, I carried that love with me. I tried to play at the college level. But a series of torn ACLs took that away before it ever really started. Standing on the sideline, I had a choice. I chose to stay. I earned my Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and found new purpose in helping the people around me.
But what I could not stop watching, year after year, were my friends. Talented, hardworking athletes who lit up that field. And then graduation came. And the lights went out. No agent. No plan. No roadmap. Everything they had built their identity around simply vanished. And the world moved on like it never mattered.
It mattered.
The 91st exists because of those players. I am not a former pro. I am someone who came from across the world with a dream, watched people I love struggle in silence, and decided that was not acceptable. Every player deserves a next chapter. This foundation is how we help them write it.
