When kids and youth play, the world wins!

Science has proven that sport is a double-edged sword; it serves both as a prevention and treatment of disease (FYSS, www.fyss.se). Engaging in competitive sports helps reduce the risk of diseases, and it is also beneficial for relieving illness and stress, while improving mental well-being.

Competitive sports help children improve their social skills, teamwork abilities, mental and physical development, as well as their confidence and self-esteem.

The primary goals of this community-based youth soccer tournament are to promote fun, sportsmanship, social interaction, and strengthen ties within the communities, particularly for the children. For the organizers, this initiative genuinely embodies the spirit of community service.

The Habesha (Ethiopians and Eritreans) are the second most populous community in Colorado, following the Mexican/Spanish population. It is estimated that about 80,000 Habesha reside in Colorado, with 6,000 to 8,000 Habesha living in the city of Aurora (@nebiyu.asfaw). However, there is a lack of strong unity among the community, resulting in limited participation in many of the state’s programs.

በኮላሎራዶ ዉስጥ ወደ 80,000 የሚደርሱ አበሻ (ኢትዬጵያዉያን እና ኤርትራዉያን) እንዳሉ ይገመታል ይህም በስቴቱ በሕዝብ ብዛት ከሜክሲኮ/ከስፓኒሽ ቀጥሎ ሁለተኛ ደረጃ ያረገናል ነገር ግን እንደ ብዛታችን መጠን ጠንካራ ሕብረት የለንም ልጆቻችን ላይ የተሰራ የሚታይ ሥራም የለም እንዲሁም ስቴቱ በሚያዘጋጀው ኘሮግራሞች ላይ ጠንካራ ተሳትፎ የለንም እንደዚ አይነት ማሕበረሰቡ ላይ በተለይም ልጆች ላይ ያተኮረ ፕሮግራም ልጆች አካላቸዉ እና አእምሮአቸዉ ጤናማ እንዲሆን ይረዳል ከእድሜ አቻዋቻቸዉ ጋር ጔደኝነት ይፈጥራሉ ወይም ያጠነክራሉ አንድነታቸዉን ያሳድጋል ወደፊት ስቴቱ በሚያዘጋጀው ኘሮግራሞች ላይ ጠንካራ ተሳትፎ እንዲኖረን አስተዋጽኦ ያደርጋል

ቤተሰብ ኑ! በኢትዬጵያዊነት ጥላ ስር ልጆቻችንን ኳስ እናጫዉታቸዉ በመጫወታቸዉ ይዝናናሉ ይደሰታሉ ጔደኝነታቸዉ ይጠነክራል አዳዲስ ጔደኝነት ይፈጥራሉ እኛ ወላጆችንም ያግባባል ያቀራርባል!

ስፖርት ከፖለቲካ ከሀይማኖት ከብሄር ከዘር የፀዳ ሁሉንም በአንድነት በአንድ ቋንቋ የሚያግባባ ክስተት ነዉ!

There are numerous Ethiopian community-based soccer teams and academies in Colorado, primarily focused on youth development; however, these organizations frequently face challenges collaborating for a variety of reasons.

This youth soccer tournament project aims to offer our kids a chance to meet, play soccer, enjoy themselves, and socialize with one another. In this way, the Habesha community can unite, transcending differences in religion, politics, and ethnicity.

We encourage all Habesha youth to register for this tournament, either as teams or individuals, to play soccer, enjoy themselves, and socialize with their peers. There are five available age groups for this tournament.

• 7U (7 years and under)
• 9U (9 years and under)
• 11U (11 years and under)
• 13U (13 years and under)
• 15U (15 years and under))

We expect about 200 Habesha youth to sign up and participate in this tournament. So far, four Aurora-based soccer academies have expressed their interest in participating:

• Colorado Mountain Lion academy (CMLS) https://cmls-academy.com/ 7U, 9U, 11U, 13U and 15U
• Family Soccer and Athletics http://familysoccers.com/ 7U, 9U, 11U, 13U and 15U
• MNT academy 7U, 9U, 11U, 13U and 15U
• Ethio Walya Colorado and Spring Academy, we are working with them

Youth sports offer a wide array of benefits, such as enhanced physical health, improved social skills, and greater self-esteem. Participating in sports helps children cultivate teamwork and leadership skills, creating a sense of community and belonging. Furthermore, engagement in sports can enhance discipline, focus, and time management as young athletes navigate the balance between practice and academics. Ultimately, involvement in youth sports encourages lifelong habits of exercise and healthy living.

Many local parents expressed their interest in registering their kids for this tournament, even if they don’t have a team. We have also seen that many kids love to play soccer; thus, we are open to registering kids without a team. We will then organize a team, assign an experienced coach, arrange two to three weeks of practice, facilitate soccer jerseys, and prepare the team for the tournament.

የዉድድሩ የክብር ስፓንሰሮቻችን