Press coverage

The New York Times - May 2023

“Everybody is welcome here”

“Lightner quickly saw that the abundant sports opportunities in the city’s wealthier communities barely existed for the kids he was now working with. He had always felt like an outsider and now saw that the players he coached — the children of working-class immigrants in one of America’s whitest cities — thought of themselves in much the same way. Considering how he could best help, Lightner focused on what had kept him going through all those years of adolescent anguish.

Soccer had been my main way of finding healing and connection, and I wanted that for these kids, too,” he said.”

The Washington Post - December 2023

“The industry is still being affected by billions of dollars in private equity, and that has caused many big organizations to grow and smaller clubs to shrink. PCFC is the model that can change the industry.”

The Guardian - May 2024

“During her first soccer game she couldn’t even really run normally because she was squealing and skipping with joy down the field. It’s the happiest I’ve ever seen her.”