As I
write this blog entry the closing ceremony is taking place. There's
dancing both on- and off-stage, vuvuzelas, people laughing and exchanging
contact details with their new friends from different countries... it feels like a festival.
Its an
amazing atmosphere, which is very impossible to describe, so I won't
try. But as the sun sets on the ninth East Africa Cup, it's time to
look forward as well as reflecting on the past achievements of this
unique event.
From a
small football tournament with only a few hundred players and
optional workshops, it has become Africa's biggest celebration of
football, fellowship and education, bringing in teams from Burundi,
Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
What
was simply a youth sport tournament has become a week-long centre of
excellence for people using sport in their community throughout the
year.
From
first aid and refereeing to film making and health education, leaders
from around the region can learn skills they take back to their
community.
The
young players themselves, more than 1300 of them don't just play
football, because this isn't just a sporting event. They attend
seminars in things like conflict resolution, leadership
and AIDS awareness. They make friends from other countries and learn
about their cultures.
As well
as young sportspeople, dancers and actors are a big part of the EAC. They've
been playing at the closing ceremony, indeed every night; this
year they also went out into the community, performing music with a
message and pop up street theatre on the streets of Moshi.
© Nick Raistrick/East Africa Cup
As ever
the results of the tournament aren't who happens to score the most
goals. The biggest prizes are for fair play not football prowess.
(It's
the football that drives the passion, so it wouldn't be right to
congratulate the winning teams. For a full list of these, please
visit the East Africa Cup Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/eastafricacup )
Looking
forward, with next year the 10th
anniversary of the East Africa Cup, what next? The organisers
promised some surprises at the closing press conference.
But the
funding challenge for the East Africa Cup is enormous, and for the
event to continue to survive and thrive it needs to tell its story.
Future sponsors will want to see evidence of the change in people's
lives that learning trough sport can bring.
We hope
that you can help and thank you for your support in getting us this
far.
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