The inaugural Ravens Community Cup charity soccer tournament took place Sept. 24 in Carleton’s Fieldhouse, hosting teams from a variety of backgrounds to raise funds for Somali Relief Ottawa and forge fresh relationships between new and established Canadians.
Two Carleton Ravens soccer games followed a competitive yet friendly morning soccer tournament of 10 teams, with the Fieldhouse divided into two fields, allowing four teams to play simultaneously.
The Cup was a part of the Ontario Soccer Association’s Soccer Settlement project, which works to help new Canadians integrate themselves through soccer, and coordinator Javier Clavelo said he was very happy with the first event.
“The atmosphere was there,” Clavelo said. “It was competitive, especially the semifinals . . . We were treated to good quality soccer, and at the same time, that good sportsmanship that we saw throughout three and a half hours.”
“Even some of the teams that didn’t have enough players, some other teams would back them up so they would be able to come and play,” continued Clavelo, “because that’s the most important thing.”
The winners of the Community Cup and the spirit award, which went to the team who obtained the most “spirit points” through practicing good sportsmanship, were presented at halftime of the women’s soccer match between the Ravens and the Nipissing Lakers at Keith Harris Stadium.
Both the men’s and the women’s Ravens soccer teams beat the Lakers following the morning tournament, with the women shutting out the Lakers 3-0 and the men winning 3-1.
The winners of the Community Cup, Halgan FC, fought hard through a long series of penalty kicks versus Jogo Bonito in the semifinals, before moving on to defeat Ascorcan by a score of 3-0 in the finals.
Hassan Okie, team captain of Halgan FC and teammate Ahmed Hassan, both of Somali origin, said they were excited to win, but had a different focus in mind.
“We supported a good cause,” Hassan said following the trophy presentation. “Just to participate in that . . . that is the most important goal. The trophy is a bonus, but the main thing is that we supported a good cause.”
“It’s really good,” Okie said. “It’s good to come up all the time and we enjoy it and meet a lot of new people here.”
The Ottawa police also attended the event, and for good reason, Clavelo said.
“The great thing about [new Canadians] playing with the Ottawa police is they see them as their friends,” Clavelo said.
Const. Kevin Williams, a member of Ottawa police’s diversity and race relations department, said he enjoyed the inaugural event.
“It was awesome,” Williams said after the tournament. “We had a good turnout of police officers . . . It’s a great cause and that’s what we’re all about, supporting that kind of thing.”
Clavelo praised Carleton as a host and had a good outlook on future events, but said he thinks expansion of the fundraiser may take some work for it to function well.
“We really hope to continue to do it, to make it an annual event,” he said. “But we’re restricted, because we always want to combine it with a Ravens game. We’ll talk to Carleton and see how we can possibly expand it or do it outdoors, but we always want to link it with the Ravens game, because it’s the Ravens Community Cup. That’s the point.”
