Chuks Ndive started playing soccer (“it’s football,” he laughed) when he was just a kid in Nigeria.
“ Right from when I could walk, I started playing football,” he said. “So that’s over three decades now.”
In kindergarten, he broke his arm during a game, but even that – and his parents’ worries – couldn’t keep him away. Now, he and some friends get together every Saturday to play soccer in Pasco.
“ I love the excitement,” Ndive said. “I love the sense of unity. You have people from everywhere. We don't need to be talented. We don't need to be very skilled. Just show up, have the passion and interact with people. So I love the sense of belonging, the togetherness it fosters.”
That togetherness was a big goal of the inaugural Tri-Cities World Relief Cup on Saturday. World Relief is a Christian organization that helps resettle and support refugees.
Organizers said they hoped to give people something fun and joyful to do to mark World Refugee Day, which will officially take place June 20.
The refugees World Relief helps out have been displaced for a variety of reasons, like violence or natural disasters in their home countries. With recent ICE deportations, many people are scared, said Steve Vollmer, who directs the Tri-Cities arm of World Relief.
“ There's a lot of people who don't want to leave their house. There's a lot of people who don't wanna go in crowded areas,” Vollmer said.
With that in mind, organizers didn’t promote the event heavily ahead of time. Still, eight teams turned out for the 7-on-7 soccer tournament in Pasco. Family members and friends cheered from the sidelines.
Some teams had practiced for the tournament for months. A few teams hoped a league could eventually start up. But that’ll take some time and organization, Vollmer said.
The teams played in brackets, each game consisting of 20-minute halves and a five-minute halftime. Like the World Cup, the tournament used a point system.
“ We have a couple of just recreational teams, and then the rest are like really excited to win,” Vollmer said.
People from all different countries passed the ball back and forth. French, Dari and Spanish could be heard from the sidelines. Interpreters lined the field to help.
But, Ndive said, they were all speaking the language of soccer.
“I don't know the language they're speaking, could be Spanish, could be anything. But we know what it means. It means, ‘Hey, go for the ball. Hey, run over there,’” Ndive said. “You don't need to speak the language.”
You just need to have fun and play, he said. And part of that fun was scoring the first goal for his team, the Indomitable Lions, he said, smiling.
The Lions ended up winning the tournament, earning each team member a medal.
Vollmer said that while this might be the first World Relief Cup, he thinks the tournament will only get bigger in the years to come.
