Copa de La Paz Part 2

Yesterday was International Peace Day. In order to celebrate, our staff put on an all girls soccer tournament in one of the outer neighborhoods in Granada.

18 teams participated. We split each of our 4 teams in half, and we invited schools from nearby communities. For the most part, this tournament was the first time many of those girls played together as a team.

It was neat to see the newly formed teams playing against girls from the Fútbol sin Fronteras program. Our coaches decided to split their teams evenly so even new girls would have a chance at playing and winning games. So even the FSF teams were essentially playing together for the first time.

We paraded in from the church in the center of the village. It was a long, hot day and the girls played plenty of soccer, but it went smoothly. Our teams came out champions of two of the three divisions. The girls enjoyed cheering for other teams and getting to know other players. The community showed massive interest in the event and swarmed to fields to see penalties, finals, and injuries. There's a different approach to injuries here in Nicaragua, and it doesn't involve anyone saying "Give her some air!" People just crowd around. Most injuries are a mix of shock and attention. Luckily, no one was hurt seriously, and we got on with the day.

I was impressed with the girls for their ability, with the staff for organizing the tournament, and with the community for supporting it.

The youngest girls had the most energy and showed the most spirit. They cheered for every team and even themselves, well after they were done playing. One of their cheers translated to "Toilet, toilet! We are made of gold!" It was actually pretty clever in Spanish.

The lady who cleans our house asked if her daughter could join. We put her on a team, and she won the trophy for leading scorer of the tournament!

One of our coaches brought some girls to the bathroom, but a guy stopped her en route to warn her about the pit bill that was roaming. He gave her a big branch, and she received it feeling overwhelmed. One of the tiniest girls took the branch, bigger than her, and said, I'll take care of this. But once she saw the dog, she screamed, dropped the branch, and ran to the back of the line. She'll toughen up.

Overall, it was a fun day. A good celebration of Peace. We look forward to doing it again.