NEWS AND UPDATES
CONIFA Youth Exchange
I’ve got an exciting update on the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) World Championships 2014. The organization is working hard to make sure the promotion of cultures and youth is just as important and highlighted as the football. One of many...
Darfur United Coach Ambassador: Rachael Rapinoe!
My name is Rachael Rapinoe, owner of Rapinoe Soccer Camps and retired women's professional soccer player. I've spent my entire life learning and trying to master the beautiful game of futbol, and now I am lucky enough to teach this knowledge to others. I have coached...
“I Feel Happy and Freedom” — Iggy
On September 21, International Day of Peace, I received a wonderful message from Iggy. Iggy is a confident soccer player and person. During our journey to Iraq and the Viva World Cup, he was always smiling and looking for ways to help those around him. He is very...
Spirit of Darfur United
I first met Alex through an email request. A Manhattan Beach Sand & Surf soccer coach emailed me asking if we had a need for used soccer gear. We had already been collecting balls and jerseys from the soccer team that Gabriel’s son is on, so it was only natural to...
A Community-based Sport Program
In the past couple of decades, the importance of community-based participatory programs have been highlighted through scores of research articles and publications and is now widely accepted as a fundamental principle of good community development practice. The main...
From Strangers to Brothers, On and Off the Field
It was not a great start to our soccer story. It was going to be beautiful, I thought, the bringing together of young men from all twelve refugee camps, representing over a dozen tribes to become a team, to joyfully play together—united! As we stood in front of them...
Star Athletes
I recently read an article in the Huffington Post called, “How Do We Get Our Kids to Love Sports Particularly Because They Likely Won't Be Professional Athletes?” The article discusses the ingredients of success of professional athletes and Olympians. Whether it...
On the Road to Another World Cup
Remember how exciting and inspiring it was to get the Darfur United team to Iraqi-Kurdistan to compete in the VIVA World Cup!? Well, we get to relive this excitement and inspiration again this year, as we prepare the team for the ConIFA World Championship in Sweden!...
The 1st Academy and Preparations for Another World Cup!
It was almost a year ago that I first spoke with Gabriel and KTJ about joining i-ACT to help develop and implement the Darfur United Soccer Academy. They enthusiastically explained to me how the idea for the Academy came to be following the success of Darfur United...