Lincoln will host an event on Wednesday that brings together the city’s diverse communities for an evening of soccer and fellowship. It’s called the Youth World Cup Celebration and features refugee and immigrant youth from across Lincoln who come together to compete in the match.
Approximately 200 youth who are involved in summer soccer camps and their families are expected to attend the celebration at Clinton Elementary School. Hasan Khalil is President of the Lincoln International Football Club and the man in charge of the four-month long soccer camps. He tells KLIN News me everyone involved is excited to have this opportunity.
“Different cultures coming together to share food, to share music and watching the tournament,” Khalil says the flags of each country represented will be displayed and the American National Anthem will be played before the game begins.
The event includes six youth soccer teams made up of boys and girls ages 10–12. Here is the breakdown of the teams.
- Iraqi/Yazidi/Syrian
- African Nations
- Mexico/Central America/America
- Ukrainian
- Karen (from Myanmar)
- Afghan
Khalil says the Youth World Cup Celebration highlights the important work being done to help refugee and immigrant youth feel welcome, seen, and supported in their new home. He also says it’s a powerful story of Lincoln’s growing diversity, and the people and organizations uniting to support it.
The celebration will be held at Clinton Elementary School from 5-8 p.m. Organizers say the first annual event won’t be open to the public, but there are plans to include everyone in the future.
(Photo: Reprinted with permission from Lincoln Journal Star)