Thursday August 24, 2023
"Let's play soccer, sports. When you play soccer, you bring together the entire world — peace and unity."
Captain Abdul, co-organizer of the World Peace Awareness Conference, brought together members of the Somaliland community to speak about peace and respect for the law on Oct. 22, 2017, in Edmonton. He has as of 2023 hosted the Canada World Peace Soccer Tournament in Edmonton for about seven years. Postmedia, file
An annual Edmonton soccer tournament promoting world peace and an inclusive community is set to kick off this coming weekend after the long-time organizer cancelled it due to rain.
Abdullahi Mohamed, also known as Captain Abdul, has been organizing the Canada World Peace Soccer Tournament for about seven years.
But he cancelled the tournament last Friday after heavy rain and hail turned the soccer pitch into a soggy mess. He’s grateful he did because one field at Grand Trunk Park near 132 Avenue and 109 Street that he previously paid for and booked with the City of Edmonton was overtaken by a Saturday morning clash between two groups of the Eritrean community, one pro-government of their homeland and one against.
Police are still investigating the weekend violence which pitted members of the city’s Eritrean community against one another and led officers to take the rare step of proclaiming the Riot Act.
“Something told me, cancel it, cancel it, cancel it. Not only just the rain. Something about the mood. God sees everything,” said Captain Abdul Tuesday night, adding he is saddened political violence from elsewhere sometimes spills over into his beloved Canada. “I made this tournament because of how beautiful Canada is and I have to give back.”
The peace soccer tournament at Queen Elizabeth High School, 9425 132 Ave., and Grand Trunk Park begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. It includes teams from Mexico, Namibia, Somalia, Congo, Brazil, El Salvador, Gambia, and Burundi, with the championship Sunday game at Queen Elizabeth set for 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
But before that, a team that includes city police officers will take on the Canada World Peace Community Team at 3:45 p.m.
The real goal, said Captain Abdul, is to promote community, appreciation, love, and peace.
“Let’s play soccer, sports. When you play soccer, you bring together the entire world — peace and unity,” he said, adding he could not have hosted the event without the help of sponsors including the Elsafadi Brothers supermarket, Assiff Law, and the Royal Bank.
“Canada is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Forget about background issues. This country gives us opportunities. Be part of the society.”
The Canada World Peace Team and the city police team also faced off at the August tournament last year.