Monday April 8, 2024
By: Maureen Dudley
ROCHESTER, Minn.-With Ramadan coming to an end soon, the Ramadan Cup Tournament ended on April 7th.
The Ramadan Cup has been taking place in the Med City for the past 20 years.
Rochester City Council member Shaun Palmer says, "It's a good celebration, you get everybody together for the end of Ramadan and it's a big effort for everybody in the area."
As the Ramadan Cup took place over the past month, 10 teams competed to see who would make it to the final. A coach for the tournament and former played says the event brings the community together.
Ramadan Cup coach Faiz Abdirahman says, "It's great, I mean you can see the masses out here. The young are enjoying themselves and there's a lot of prizes to be won and it's a way for us to give back to the community."
While winning may be a goal for teams in the tournament, the main objective is to get the community together to celebrate Ramadan while also playing soccer. Rochester Somali Community Center executive director Said Hussain says the event gives youth an opportunity to be active during the month.
Hussain says, "They feel very enerjetic, they're willing to participate, also they get to know each other. They came here to have a lot of resources from the community. We all get together and gotta make sure that we have this kind of ceremony all the time."
At the end of the tournament, team Nile Fc won the Ramadan Cup.