As part of the Unity week celebrations in Christchurch, Mainland Football hosted eight community country of origin teams at English park from around the Canterbury region, hosting the first Unity Cup for 2022. The tournament uses young people’s passion for football to connect diverse communities, celebrate cultures and encourage positive social change in the city.

During the week of the tournament, participants were invited to the draw and information evening at English Park, where information was given to teams about other offering such as Coaching courses and pathways, Beach football and Street football offerings from Adam Keizer (Mainland Football Community Development Officer), as well as a panel discussion about coaching pathways for migrants in New Zealand with experienced premier coach Cvetan Ivanov (Tsetso) hosted by Hussain Hanif.

The 2022 Unity Cup got underway with Walking Football and All Abilities football in the morning on English Park before the country-of-origin tournament.

Pools were split into two groups of four. Somalia, Nepal, Uruguay, and Fiji made up Group A, whilst Group B hosted Afghanistan, Persia, Bhutan and Tanzania.

It was great to hear the beautiful languages spoken and see the different styles of football being played in pool play. Uruguay and Fiji qualified in pool A, and Afghanistan and Persia from group B qualified for the semi-finals.

The semi-final between Persia and Uruguay ended in a 1-1 draw, with Uruguay going through on penalties. The second semi-final produced a fantastic football game, with Fiji going up 3-1 with three minutes to go and Afghanistan pulling back two goals late to make it 3-3 to take it into penalties, with Afghanistan coming out on top to qualify. 

The grand final between Afghanistan and Uruguay culminated the great football produced all day, ending in a 0-0 draw heading straight into the final penalty shootout with the South Americans coming out Unity Cup champions for 2022!

"Thank you to all teams who participated in the first Unity cup, all teams showing great sportsmanship and Unity. Thank you to Christchurch City Council for supporting this event." - Hussain Hanif, Mainland Football/Canterbury Cricket Diversity and Inclusion Manager.

Article added: Tuesday 29 March 2022