How St. Louis CITY SC’s Josh Yaro uses his status to serve others

Growing up in Ghana as the son of educators, Josh Yaro learned from a young age the value of giving back.

Yaro’s parents were school principals, giving him a unique perspective on the impact that a strong educational system can have on a community. Even as they raised a family of their own, Yaro’s mother and father used their status as school administrators in Kumasi, Ghana to ensure that underfunded schools in the area had enough resources to adequately support and teach local kids. It was a lesson in empathy and compassion—a lesson Yaro will never forget.

Though playing center back for St. Louis CITY SC may be his full-time career, Yaro is equally committed to his charity work. For the 29-year-old, the two tracks are conveniently aligned. 

“The second I became a professional athlete, I knew I was going to use this platform to do something back home,” Yaro says. 

Months after the Philadelphia Union selected him second overall in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, Yaro launched his eponymous nonprofit to provide young Ghanaian students with school supplies. The idea had been years in the making for Yaro, who has felt called to serve others since the age of 14 when he volunteered to assist students struggling to read and write. Thanks to the Josh Yaro Foundation, there are now kids who now have chairs to sit on and pencils with which to write.  

Even before he turned pro, Yaro desired to use the opportunities he earned through soccer to shape the world around him. It started during his youth career while playing with the Right to Dream Academy, which balanced soccer and education, and emphasized that athletes should use their stature to do good. And owing to his upbringing, academics have always mattered. At Georgetown University, Yaro studied both international relations and medical anthropology. 

CITY staffers knew what Yaro was all about even before St. Louis had a team. In 2021, Yaro played for the San Diego Loyal in the USL Championship. One of his teammates in San Diego was Morgan Hackworth, the eldest son of CITY technical director John Hackworth. When it came time for St. Louis to begin building a roster in 2022, Yaro was among the first players acquired. CITY’s front office believed Yaro’s character and leadership would be essential for leading a young CITY2 squad in its inaugural MLS Next Pro season. 

“We hand-selected him to do that,” John Hackworth says. “If you ask him to do a job as an athlete on the field or as a leader, he doesn’t even question it. Those kinds of guys are invaluable when you’re trying to build a very young team and a brand new club.”

In addition to the work he’s done in his native Ghana, Yaro also participates in outreach events in St. Louis. As an athlete, Yaro feels it’s important to repay the St. Louis community for its support. 

“If you look at [athletes] in terms of our general society, they have a role to play,” Hackworth says. “They get to choose whether that role is to serve other people or whether it’s to be a little selfish. And you can clearly see Josh’s decision is to try and serve others.” 

Yaro also believes it’s meaningful being a Black leader of a charitable organization serving communities in Ghana, where he hopes he’s viewed as a role model by the young people he’s strived to help.

“They’re seeing someone that speaks their language, someone that looks like them, someone that understands what it means to be from where they are, and telling them ‘I’m one of you, I’ve gone through all of these things, and these are the things that I’ve achieved. If you work hard, if you do things right, you can do these things as well.’ I think it’s a powerful message,” Yaro says. 

Education changed Yaro’s life. He hopes the facilities and school supplies provided by the Josh Yaro Foundation can do the same for the next generation of Ghanaian children.

“Once you are educated you have the power of knowledge. It’s with you forever; no one can reach into your head and take what you know out of your head. If you’re an informed and educated citizen, you will make better decisions and you can engage with the rest of the world.”