Bridging Gaps...

Our organization began in August of 2019 as Culture Based Clothing, started by Elyes Ellouz and Max Roberts heading into their sophomore year of high school. The message was simple: we should accept everyone from every cultural background, embrace our own heritage, and welcome the diversity around us in the world. For Culture Based Clothing, Elyes and Max designed t-shirts and sold out of them within the first week. From this point, Max decided to take the organization a different direction by turning it into Diversity for Change KC. The newly branded project officially hosted its first charity soccer event on January 24th, 2021- raising $410 to facilitate a fund for families in need at the newly built Olathe West High School.

Across the Kansas City metro at Lee's Summit West High School, Bashir Khalil heard about Diversity for Change KC and decided he wanted to get involved. That same winter, Bashir had been coordinating pickup soccer games among some of the best up-and-coming ballers in the city and holding the first-ever EFT on January 10th, 2021 with just 4 teams and 22 players. Putting together their love for soccer and passion for sharing cultures from around the world, Bashir, Elyes, and Max started the Diversity for Change KC "Elite Footballers Tourney. Fast forward a few years and 9 successful tournaments later, Diversity for Change, Inc. officially became a registered entity in February of 2023.

As an organization, we underwent our final stage of rebranding in December of 2023, merging the umbrella of Diversity for Change KC and our soccer tournaments into one, solely becoming Elite Footballers Tournament or "EFT". The mission of our newly driven social enterprise is to help players of all communities succeed in the game of soccer. We believe the pay-to-play model in the United States diminishes sporting merit and, in turn, weakens prospects on an international stage. We look to bridge that gap. Through participation in our seasonal tournaments, players have an opportunity to earn an unrestricted scholarship. This allows us to execute on our impact in supporting players during their most crucial stages of development. In interviewing accomplished players from our tournaments, we look to empower those aspiring to advance in the sport by showing a relatable pathway to success, irrespective of one's origin- whether they are from Kansas City or the other side of the world.

Some of our biggest accomplishments as an organization so far include providing $12,000 worth of scholarships for players in KC, donating over $1,500 to organizations that aid refugees, supporting an Afghan family of 6 as they escaped the Taliban takeover, and learning to navigate the competitive business landscape through building the organization from the ground up at such a young age. Nothing we do can be achieved without the willingness of those around us to receive our message and support our work. A special mention should also go out to our ambassador program and the help of CJ Elrichs, Mariam Sharoyan, Nifemi Lawal, and Will Gragg. These individuals really helped us get our name out in the early stages of Diversity for Change KC. Going forward, we are beyond excited to continue growing EFT as a community- with you.