Soccer + Life Skills for Hundreds of Youth

COACH SPOTLIGHT

Last month, Abdoulaye Ali finally received an honor he has been working towards for nearly a decade - though he didn't even know it. 

Ali is the founder of Kumba United FC and a volunteer Community Leader in Open Field. He started many many years ago as a youth participant in our Educational Community League Programs in his neighborhood of Metta Quarter. After gaining a lot of leadership skills and feeling a strong sense of community and family during his participation, his love for the program encouraged him to create a football team that is know known across town as Kumba United.

He has been outstanding in his style of leadership of young athletes - both on and off the field - and did a great job during the last Boys League this year. So, the Open Field Cameroon team decided to crown him with the title of “Best Community Leader”.

Due to his love for football (soccer) in general he is also professional football player the senior category of the local club, Gunners K-Town FA. They are currently taking part in the ongoing Regional League in Cameroon and he is determined to further his football career to the highest level.

His ability to balance both his personal commitment to playing the game alongside coaching younger children in his community makes him a star in our eyes. 

LEAGUE UPDATE

The target population are youths between the ages of 13-15 years old. For more than three months, the league ran with 8 teams in total taking part in the competition,. TheTHEME of the tournament was “Say No To Drugs and Negative Peer Pressure”. It was a history making tournament in the City of Kumba because all the big teams like Legend FA, The Blues and Boss FC were eliminated in the knock out stages.

Boys Teams that participated included:

• Legend FA
• Gunners K-Town FA
• River Side FC
• Panesta FA
• Global Brighter Light FC
• Kumba united FC
• The Blues FC
• Boss  FC

There were two groups. Group A played at Government Practicing School Kumba Town while teams in Group B played at Presbyterian School Fiango.

 The first semifinals game was between PANESTA FA Vs River Side, Panesta was defeated 2 goals to nothing in favor of River Side, while the second semifinal game was between Kumba United Vs Gunners K-Town FA which ended up in a penalty kick out 4:3 in favor of Gunners K-Town.

 The finals of the Open Field tournament was played between Gunners K-Town and River Side that ended up in a penalty and Gunners K-Town defeated his opponent with a difference of one goal and were crowned champions of the Open Feld U-15 Tournament 2024.

 GIRLS LEAGUE KICKS OFF THIS MONTH!

Links:

• Learn more about all our programming in our 2023 Annual Report!

Back in December, the team in Kumba completed another edition of the Super Cup for hundreds of youth in Cameroon thanks to support from FIFA Foundation and people like YOU! The activities began with a city-wide tournament in October and wrapped up early in December with a conference and championship, in traditional Open Field fashion. 

“To me is a moment of joy and that feelings of finishing the line first and going back to my community with a lot of positive energy not just to showcase the trophy  but also to use it to bring more youths to this great and transformative program” statement from the Under-15 Captain after their victory at the Super Cup Championship 2023. 

With a grant from the FIFA Foundation coming in the second half of 2023, the team in Cameroon went to work putting together all of the pieces to implement a community-wide initiative to promote mental health, peace, and social cohesion for hundreds of youth across the Kumba municipality. There was a coaches training and orientation followed bu practice sessions where players learned about these topics from their coaches and members of the Open Field team. 

Competitions followed suit, first in 10 neighborhoods across Kumba - for both boys an girls - and then the crown jewel: a conference at the Kumba City Council Hall in the center of the town. Local leaders joined that weekend to share their wisdom with more than 100 participants. From all reports, youth were surrounding the building, both players and their friends, because they love the program and want to participate. 

After all the success and impact in 2023, more youth participants are excited to join in 2024. Planning is underway for educational competitions to focus on resisting negative peer pressure and saying no to drugs. We look forward to sharing more about this with you next quarter!