Nickelodeon will premiere the brand new special Nickelodeon's Game Changers: Chasing Goals on Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 5:30 p.m. (ET/PT), straight after the latest NFL Slimetime at 5:00 p.m. (ET/PT).
In Nickelodeon's Game Changers: Chasing Goals, come follow the journey of two incredible Game Changers as they each strive to make it as young Black women in the sport of soccer. For them, it's not just about scoring goals, but chasing their dreams and breaking barriers.
Savanah Davis, a seventh grader at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy and forward for the Akron Inner City Soccer Club, shares her story in a Nickelodeon project highlighting challenges and triumphs of young Black girls in the sport.
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| Savanah Davis smiles in front of the soccer net at Lane Field Park in Akron. (London Green / Signal Akron) |
"WANTED: Passionate and dedicated pre-teen/teenager willing to share challenges that Black girls face on and off the soccer field in a Nickelodeon documentary. Successful applicant is focused on breaking barriers, chasing dreams and redefining the future of the sport. Smiles and giggles are a plus."
Savanah Davis, a 12-year-old from Akron, answered Nickelodeon’s national call for soccer players, part of the cable network’s documentary project. After all, she loves the sport.
“I love running, and that’s probably my favorite part about soccer,” Davis, a forward on the Akron Inner City Soccer Club’s U13 squad, told Signal Akron. She’s also a seventh-grader at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy. “I also just like the aggression and the talent you have to have for the sport.”
Davis is the soccer exception, not the norm. Fewer Black youth are playing sports regularly. According to data from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, 35% of Black youth ages 6-17 played sports regularly in 2023, down from 45% in 2013. Common barriers included costs, lack of resources and lack of access to recreational clubs. And in Teen Sport in America, Part II: Her Participation Matters, authored by the Women’s Sports Foundation, just 2.7% of Black girls surveyed participated in soccer between 2006-18. Also in the survey: 50.9% responded they did not play sports.
Being selected to participate in the documentary felt “unreal” to Davis, who averages more than two goals a match. So much so that she didn’t tell her soccer friends for weeks.
Filming took place in October.
“They had me vlog on my way to school, getting ready for school, saying ‘hi’ to like, my friends in the morning, stuff like that,” Davis said.
Her U13 coach, Reilly Dougherty, said Davis is a dedicated soccer player.
“She works really hard, and she shows a lot of leadership tendencies,” Dougherty said, “and she has done so since I started coaching with these girls.”
Her mother agreed.
“You can just see her passion, that she’s in her element,” Christine Davis said of her daughter, who has played for the club for two seasons. “And she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
At age 3, Davis tried soccer and hated it. So she put the ball down for several years. When she returned to the sport, she fell in love. And now, one of her dreams is to play professional soccer.
Davis practices with the Akron Inner City Soccer Club on Howe Street at Lane Field in Sherbondy Hill. Without field lighting in the grassy practice space, the team finishes most practices in the dark — or with lighting assistance from the headlights of parents’ vehicles.
Davis has been called slurs during games. Her mother added that the club has dealt with unfair treatment from officials. The coach agreed.
“I’m always stunned by how these kids are aware that they’re being discriminated against, but they still maintain their composure, have fun and still allow themselves to be like silly kids,” Dougherty said.
The Akron Inner City Soccer Club was founded in 1999, built on the principle of affordability, year-round access, fun and competitiveness. Its soccer players range in age from 5 to teenagers.
“I would like more people to come and see us, even see our practice, or see our games,” said Dele Olabisi, the club’s founder. “It’d be nice to see more people come and just see what we’re doing.”
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Originally published: November 01, 2025.
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