The National Wales
By Rebecca Wilks
Sunday August 7, 2022
Cardiff Bay Warriors FC. (Picture: Ali Abdi)
A Cardiff football team is set to face off against Leicester in the Somali British Champions League final this weekend.
The Cardiff Bay Warriors, made up largely of Welsh players with Somaliland heritage, will take on Leicester Athletico this Sunday 7th August, in a Wales v England showdown.
The Somali British Champions League is the UK's most presitigious for diaspora community teams.
The Warriors completed the group stages and subsequently went on to win the League Quarter Finals and Semi Finals in emphatic fashion, coming from behind in the second leg to win 9-8, after losing 5-3 in the first leg to a team from East London.Sunday could see the club crowned UK champions.
"This is a huge occasion for Cardiff as a city and Wales as a nation," said local community organizer Ali Abdi.
"The community is often written off, or invisible, in many quarters of our society in Wales - but via the power of sport, they have the potential to put their community, city and country on the map."