National Ethiopian soccer tournament comes to Minnesota
- Binta Kanteh
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Thirty-two teams made up of more than 800 players will be at the center of an event built around the collective enjoyment of soccer and the celebration of community, tradition and shared identity for the Ethiopian diaspora.
The week-long national soccer tournament hosted by the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA) begins Saturday, taking place here in Minnesota. This year will be the first time the tournament that began in 1984 will be hosted in the state. ESFNA initially awarded Minnesota with the opportunity to host the tournament in 2020 but cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Asbe Hailu who has been on the board of ESFNA since 2023 said the local impact of having the tournament in Minnesota is profound on several fronts, most notably- the affirming boost for Ethiopian youth.
“They're (on) a big stage and see their identity when the whole stadium is their cultural identity,” Hailu said. “It instills in them where they come from, who they are, where their family is from, and also that they're not different. We live in a society where we are a minority within a minority. It's like ‘It's not just you, you're not by yourself.’ We instill the love of their heritage.”
Organizers of the tournament say past years have drawn up to 27,000 attendees and they anticipate a similar turnout this coming week. To accommodate the volume, the local ESFNA board had to find the right space in order to have Minnesota host. It secured the Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center (TCO) in Eagan for the tournament, which serves as the headquarters and training facility of the Minnesota Vikings.
The week-long tournament is expected to greatly impact the local economy. There's a cascading effect of the dollars spent in a short period of time between the hotel stays, the TCO campus and surrounding businesses, according to Hailu.
Worku Ayele, who now resides in Inver Grove Heights, was born in Ethiopia. And although not a big soccer fan himself, Ayele says he’s looking forward to the tournament because he values the community gathering, cultural exchange and visibility it provides. He’s especially excited for what the celebration will mean to the youngest generation of the Ethiopian diaspora in Minnesota.
“It gives them an insight of how big the community is if they don't have that visibility already,” Ayele said. “I think them being involved in the culture and getting an understanding of who we are, what we're all about, and sharing our food and our laughter together – I think that's awesome to leave them with that.”
Ethiopian Heritage Day – July 3 – falls on the eve of the soccer tournament’s conclusion.