Africa-Press – Eswatini. At least 12 schools and two communities will compete tomorrow in the inaugural US Embassy Sports Envoy Team of the Year Tournament.
The tournament, which aims to empower girls and young women through soccer, will be held at the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) Lobamba Technical Centre. A coaches’ workshop, which started yesterday and ends today, will precede the tournament. Around 150 pupils from 12 schools and two communities (Madzanga and Mnjoli) are expected to participate in this 10-teams tournament. The teams will be named after some of the United States of America (USA) 50 states.
Deputy Chief of Mission Catlin Piper said the focus was on girls and young women. She said they wanted to use soccer to boost their confidence, physique and mental health. “Studies in different countries, including the US, have found that girls participate less in sports than boys. Research suggests the reasons include cost barriers and cultural messages that tell girls indirectly and overtly that sports are for boys,” she said. She highlighted some of the benefits of sports for girls, such as learning the values of teamwork, self-reliance and resilience, as well as developing critical skills. Two American sports stars, Zola Solamente and Will John, are here to facilitate the event.
According to her online profile, Solamente began playing soccer at the age of five, with her older brother and his friends. She continued to play with boys until middle school, when she switched to a female club team. From ages 12–17, Zola was a captain of her club team, as well as with the Olympic Development Programme, and was a member of the East Regional team, which competed internationally. Eswatini Women Football Manager Sibongile ‘Fish’ Skaggel thanked the US Embassy and EFA for such an initiative, which she hoped would steer the ladies soccer to new horizons.
Meanwhile, EFA expressed its excitement about this women’s football development programme. EFA Marketing and Communications Manager Muzi Radebe, who represented President Peter ‘Samora’ Simelane, encouraged every stakeholder to take it seriously. “We really appreciate this rare opportunity, which we believe will take our women’s football to unprecedented heights. It will boost the already existing women’s football league programmes,” Radebe said. He added that it would produce future stars that would wear the national team jersey with pride and confidence.
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