Home / Community
Stamford, Connecticut
Community
A league that gives back to the city it came from.
SISL partners with Integrità | The Papallo Family Fund on scholarships, community events, charitable initiatives and support for local families. The Fund is a separate 501(c)(3) organisation. All donations and payments are processed by the Fund, not by the league.
Impact beyond the field
A match is ninety minutes. A community is the rest of the week.
While the league celebrates Stamford's Italian heritage, its charitable and community work reaches well past the touchline. Sunday match days and the Columbus Day Tournament bring hundreds of neighbours into the same place, and that gathering power is put to work for the whole city.
With more than 180 active players and three decades of Sundays behind it, the league knits parts of Stamford together that would not otherwise meet. Connection is part of health, and it is the quietest kind of impact this work produces.
What we do
How the league gives back
Scholarships
The SISL Annual Scholarship Fund
The Columbus Day Tournament Finals Celebration raises money for the Stamford Italian Soccer League Annual Scholarship Fund, awarded to local student-athletes. The 2025 30th anniversary celebration introduced both the Papallo Family Fund Scholarship and the first annual SISL Scholarship.
Scholarships at the FundYouth opportunity
The next generation
The league's charitable work is aimed squarely at young people in Stamford: scholarship support for Italian-American student-athletes, and free community events where families can turn up without paying for a ticket.
Community events
Free, and open to the city
The Finals Celebration is the league's flagship community event and free to attend. Food, entertainment and family activities are donated by local businesses and Italian-American organisations.
The tournamentLocal partnerships
Social clubs and small businesses
Several clubs are backed by the Italian-American social clubs that have served their communities for generations, including the Minturnese Social Club, the Settefratese Social Club and the Gravinese Mutual Aid Society. Dozens of Stamford businesses sponsor the league each season.
Our partnersVolunteerism
Match days take many hands
Tournament weekends need setup, hospitality and the hundred small jobs behind a good event. Volunteering for league events is coordinated through the Fund.
Sign up to volunteerCharitable collaboration
Where the money goes
Tax-deductible contributions made through Integrità | The Papallo Family Fund support scholarships, community initiatives, urgent health-related needs and league programmes. The Fund allocates those contributions at its discretion.
Donate via the FundThe relationship, plainly
Who does what
The Stamford Italian Soccer League runs the competition: six clubs, the Sunday season, the Columbus Day Tournament, and the community that turns up for it. It is not a 501(c)(3) organisation and does not collect donations.
Integrità | The Papallo Family Fund is a Stamford 501(c)(3) that partners with the league on scholarships, charitable giving and community initiatives, and processes all donations, sponsorship payments and scholarship contributions.