Zion, a 9-year-old soccer player from Philly, had one clear highlight from the World Cup match he attended at Lincoln Financial Field earlier this month — getting a high-five from legendary French forward Kylian Mbappé.

As a part of the FIFA Players Escort Program, local children between ages 8 and 11 have been chosen to walk some of the game's biggest stars onto the pitch before the teams' national anthems are performed. For the kids who participated in the pregame ceremonies for the France-Iraq match on June 22, it was more than just the celebrity stroll that left a lasting impression. They said playing foosball with their friends in the FIFA green room and watching the game from the stands were some of the other memorable moments.

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For Andrea Rodgers, executive director of the Starfinder Foundation in Manayunk, the experience represented something more meaningful.

"Kids in this world, specifically in Philadelphia, deserve so much better than we're giving them," she said. "Hopefully for our young people it turns on a light for them that they can think and dream bigger than the space that they know now."

Starfinder and Safe-Hub Philadelphia, based in Kensington, were selected as participants for FIFA's program. Both organizations, which serve hundreds of kids in the city, host soccer camps and practices and translate their teachings to broader topics like community service, financial literacy and educational support.

"We've known for several years that the World Cup was coming to Philly and it's so crazy to me that it's actually here now," said Elizabeth Clinton, development manager with Safe-Hub. "We've been talking about how we want to have kids on the field and now it's happening. … It's cool to make those connections as well as expand the kids' worldview."

Starfinder has already sent 56 kids to Philly's matches. Between the games on June 22 and July 4, Safe-Hub will send 22. Kids from other nearby organizations will fill the rest of the spots. For a chance to participate, some of the eager players wrote letters about what the opportunity would mean to them. Others may not have understood the gravity of what they were signing up for, but nonetheless wanted the chance to see the players they look up to.

"They expressed such excitement about it throughout the process which, for an 8-year-old, is hard to articulate," Rodgers said. "One kid said to me, 'I once made a wish that I could go to the World Cup. Then you told me this and my wish came true.'"

After the lucky few were selected, the real undertaking began. On match days, kids and their chaperones were told to be at Lincoln Financial Field seven hours before kickoff, which doesn't take into account the amount of time it takes to travel from Kensington or Manayunk down to South Philly. Chaperones and families spent their mornings throwing a World Cup celebration before sending the kids on their ways.

FIFA allowed only a select few registered adults to accompany the kids to the stadiums and scheduled two rehearsals for the youngsters to practice how to behave on the field.

"There was more of a nervous energy from the parents and guardians than from the kids," Clinton said. "It's obviously a long day away and some of our kids are little. So that's pretty tough. But we have been prepping the kids now since February and March with expectations. So the kids were ready and excited."

After a few practice rounds and fittings for the kids' official FIFA uniforms (which had to be returned), the next few hours were spent in a green room. Chaperones and players recounted watching the TV as Argentina star Lionel Messi scored a hat trick against Algeria, playing UNO and foosball, and spending time with some newfound friends before making their way to the tunnel.

Provided Image/Elizabeth Clinton

Twenty two kids from Philly-based soccer organizations Starfinder and Safe-Hub Philadelphia were chosen to walk some of the World Cup's biggest names onto the field.

The tunnel was strictly for players and their escorts, which meant chaperones were confined to the backstage space where they eagerly awaited to see the kids on TV. Pairings are chosen at random for each match, which only intensified the anticipation in the green room. 

"Everyone was so excited, screaming and yelling and taking videos," Clinton said. "We saw them on the big screen, which was so cool, and they all did great. No breakdowns or panics. It can be an overwhelming experience, but they all did great."

During the June 22 game, Domincik, 11, a participant with Safe-Hub, was assigned to French midfielder Adrien Rabiot, who he said gave some reassurance before they walked.

"I liked walking through the tunnels because you never get to see those usually," said Dominick, who like other kids in this story didn't disclose their last names for privacy reasons. "I think (Rabiot) said, 'Are you ready?'... I felt excited — 100% excited."

Kevin Todd, vice president of operations with Community of Saint James, a middle school in North Philadelphia that partners with Starfinder, said his experience as a chaperone was, as a whole, "pretty boring," but getting a chance to see the kids interact with the players during the June 19 match between Brazil and Haiti made it worth it.

"The chaperones don't really have that glamorous of a job, we're really there to make sure they're eating and their socks are on right," he said. "But … one of my kids, Caleb, who's a big soccer fan, got to escort (Brazilian star) Vinícius Júnior. … To see (Júnior) singing the national anthem and seeing Caleb's face in front of him smiling was really, really cool."

For Clinton and Rodgers, it's been an emotional experience.

"I've gone to every match [in Philadelphia] so far and every single time I cry," Rodgers said.

"Honestly, I was crying," Clinton said. "Some of the kids said it was a dream come true, their favorite memory that they've ever had."

While the language barrier between the kids and players prevented any substantial conversation, several kids recalled their assigned players checking in on them or squeezing their hands.

"I remember [the field] being so empty and then later it was so packed," said Zion, who walked out during the June 22 match. "The whole team gave me a high-five, including Mbappe. ... We had to run back because we wanted to see France score because we know they're really good and could score a lot. Then as soon as we got there, Mbappe scored."

After the anthems, the kids raced to their seats in the stadium where their families were patiently waiting for them. Todd said he tried to use his time at the Brazil-Haiti match as a lesson for his students about how diverse and all-encompassing soccer can be.

"When we were in the stands high-fiving Brazilian fans and hearing them speak Portuguese, I think it was an embodiment of the global game and they felt a connection to something beyond their own community," he said. "Afterward, they were pulling up social media and I was trying to explain to them that it wasn't just you being on TV in Philly, people were watching all over the world."

The final player escorts in Philly will be for the knockout-round match on July 4th. Having already heard what their teammates experienced, excitement is at an all-time high for the kids who will be participating in the pregame ceremonies for that Round-of-16 match.

"They're very excited," Todd said. "It's become more than just a five-minute national anthem thing. It's become kind of a little group of us who have created a little community."

Rodgers said her hope is that the experience further fuels the kids' love of the sport. But for now, she's just happy to be a small part of their big moment.

"To know that these kids will have this memory and this experience for the rest of their lives and to watch and witness it," she said. "Something changed in them the moment they stepped foot in the stands after having walked them out. They may not know it now, but I certainly know it."