Washington DC’s professional soccer club, DC United, has partnered with the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to launch the Capital City Africa Cup. This collaboration aims to promote soccer and showcase Ghanaian culture in the heart of Washington D.C.
Capital City Africa Cup: An Annual Event
Paxton Baker, CEO of PKB Enterprises, said the idea behind launching the Capital City Africa Cup is to “establish the city of Washington DC as the anchor to showcase talent coming out of Africa in arts, culture and soccer”. He explained that the initial game for the Capital City Africa Cup will be in March 2023 and will be an annual event taking place at Audi Field in Washington DC. With this partnership, the winner of Ghana’s Premier League (GPL) each year will play DC United.
D.C. United will go against Ghana Premier League’s Medeama SC in a friendly match.
Extended Highlights 🎥 : DC United FC vs Medeama SC |2-1| Int. Friendly
Promoting Youth Football in Ghana
“We have now been focusing on youth development by promoting youth football. This has been a passion in Ghana for many years but lacked support through official structures”, he said.
Mr. Addo also spoke about the GFA’s is investment in youth football aimed at developing a strong base for the future of Ghana Soccer.
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Soccer's Growing Popularity in the United States
In the United States, soccer is one of the most fast-growing sports played by young people. In 2020 it was estimated that 17.8 million Americans played soccer.
Mutual Exchange of Jerseys
She presented the DC United’s home jersey to Mark Addo who also presented a jersey of the Ghana Black Stars to her. “As many of you all know, the power of soccer is immense. It brings people together, and especially wherever you find a ball you find young people. We are honoured to be presenting you with our DC United jerseys and look forward to this long relationship ahead”, said Shanell Mosely; Director of Community Relations at DC United.
Capital City Africa Week and Ghana Week
Capital City Africa Week and Ghana Week join together in a celebration of Ghanaian culture, business, tourism and sports. D.C. Washington D.C.'s first-ever Capital City Africa Week begins Monday, dedicated to celebrating the diversity of Africa through cultural, economic and sports events through Oct. Throughout the week, there will be several events around D.C. celebrating Ghanaian culture, fashion, art and more. The festival kicks off Monday evening with a welcome reception at the True Reformer Building, which will also house a Ghanaian art exhibition. The week is hosted by the Ghana Embassy in Washington, D.C., the Ghana Tourism Authority, LIQUID SOUL-DC, Events DC, and D.C.
Key Figures in African Football
Several African players have recently made headlines. For example, Cameroon's Boris Enow, who plays in Major League Soccer with D.C. United, scored a stunning free kick on his international debut, securing Cameroon's spot in Morocco.
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