WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), the Twinning Project and Angel City Football Club (FC) are launching two cohorts of a leadership soccer program at the California Institution for Women (CIW). The first cohort will run from Oct. 21 to Dec. 16, 2025.
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“CIW is dedicated to fostering growth and opportunity for incarcerated individuals, and we are proud to support this transformative partnership with Angel City FC and the Twinning Project at CIW. This leadership soccer program offers participants a powerful pathway to develop crucial life skills, build confidence, and prepare for successful reintegration into the community.”
Shaun Ward, Supervisor of Correctional Education Programs – Principal (A)
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BIGGER PICTURE: Since its inception in 2018, the Twinning Project has focused on partnering prisons with professional sports clubs around the world, offering coaching and education programs that create pathways to employment and help reduce reoffending. The organization has previously collaborated with soccer clubs in Great Britain and the United States, but this marks the first time it has worked with a U.S. football club.
TWINNING PROJECT DETAILS: The project aims to reduce recidivism by preparing incarcerated individuals for life beyond prison. Through soccer, participants build confidence, resilience and skills while strengthening themselves, their environment, and their communities.
“The launch of the Twinning Project at CIW represents a truly significant step in our global mission. Sport is a powerful tool for rehabilitation, building confidence, teamwork, and resilience,’ says Hilton Freund, MBE Global CEO of the Twinning Project. By partnering with Angel City and CDCR, we are delivering life-changing opportunities, supporting women on their journeys of growth and reintegration, and helping create stronger communities through the positive impact of sport-based criminal justice interventions.
In 2023, Angel City FC became the first professional women’s sports team to launch a women’s Twinning Project Program in the United States. This intervention program aims to improve incarcerated individuals’ leadership skills and mental and physical health through soccer. Participants will engage in weekly three-hour sessions that will run for eight weeks. In addition to ACFC soccer clinicians who will run the soccer portion, Positive Coaching Alliance will facilitate the leadership portion of the program.
“Angel City FC is thrilled to support the expansion of the Twinning Project program at CIW this fall. We first began our partnership with the Twinning Project in the fall of 2023, and we knew this was a special program that could have a deep, meaningful impact on participants,” says Chris Fajardo, Angel City FC Vice President of Community. Football is an incredible vehicle for connection and education, and we are excited to bring their program to a facility equally invested in the program’s success.”
In late 2024 and early 2025, the Twinning Project teamed with CDCR and the Golden State Warriors to host three cohorts at the California State Prison, Solano. This latest collaboration is aligned with the CDCR’s ongoing efforts to support rehabilitation and success when incarcerated individuals leave their facilities.
For more information visit the Twinning Project and Angel City Football Club websites.
For Immediate Release: Oct. 22, 2025
Contact CDCR: OPEC@cdcr.ca.gov
