CHICAGO, July 31 (UPI) -- Calvin Broadus, better known as rapper Snoop Dogg, has expanded his youth football league to include Chicago, where he is opening six chapters, officials said.
"The thing is if we don't give these kids something to fight for, they'll die for nothing," Snoop said Saturday at the Chicago Indoor Sports Facility, where he announced his plans. "When I walked into the building I felt the spirit."
The rapper told the Chicago Sun-Times he wants to help in the fight against street violence by giving children opportunities in sports and education.
"I'm looking forward to those high [participation] numbers coming out of Chicago," rather than high death rates, the rapper said.
Snoop started his football league in Los Angeles in 2004. It already has operations in New York, San Diego and Las Vegas. Nationally, the league comprises 72 football teams, with more than 3,400 children age 5 to 14 participating.
It can cost up to $165 per child to join the football league, but financial assistance is available for those who need it, the report said.
Sponsors range from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to Midwest Orthopedics in Rush.
"We just want to inspire them," Snoop Dogg said, noting that not many such programs were available when he was growing up.
