George Davis IV named program director of Louisville City FC's outreach organization

George Davis IV's playing days with Louisville City FC are behind him, but the former midfielder is staying close to the pitch in a new role.

Davis was recently named the program director of the LouCity & Racing Foundation, a charitable organization working to promote community health by growing the sport of soccer.

Among its goals outlined Monday in a news release, the foundation said it hopes to remove barriers preventing young people in Louisville and across Kentucky from playing soccer. That includes raising money to fund equipment, camps/clinics and youth academy scholarships.

"Our goal is to have a positive impact on as many people as possible and use soccer as a tool to do so," Davis said in the release. "We have an opportunity to build something special and sustainable that will benefit our communities for many years to come.

"This club continues to take on massive endeavors, and the foundation is another example of that. I am very grateful to the organization for putting its trust in me to be the program director, and I’m excited to take on a new challenge professionally."

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Davis, 34, played for Louisville City FC from 2016-21 and retired after 11 seasons in the USL Championship. The Ohio native, whose collegiate career included a stop at Kentucky, holds the league record for most game appearances (261) and is among its top 10 goal scorers with 57.

Davis began his transition into life after soccer during his final season with Louisville City, which was split between nine game appearances and serving in an administrative role with the team. He was a member of LouCity's USL title runs in 2017 and 2018, the latter of which as a member of a "triumvirate" of players leading the team through a coaching search with the departure of James O'Connor.

"We are thrilled to have someone of George’s character, work ethic and soccer proficiency to develop and lead the foundation’s programming efforts," said Jeremy Jarvi, the foundation's executive director. "George is well-respected in the community and passionate about helping create life-changing results."

The LouCity & Racing Foundation was founded in 2021 as the charitable arm of Soccer Holdings, LLC, which is the parent company of Louisville City FC and Racing Louisville FC of the National Women's Soccer League.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: George Davis IV joins Louisville City FC's charitable organization