The Cincinnati Enquirer has excellent pre- and post-cup coverage of RefugeeConnect’s World Refugee Day Cup that took place on Saturday, June 4.

How the Beautiful Game reconnects Cincinnati’s African refugees
June 2, 2016 – Cincinnati Enquirer

Excerpt: It may be the world’s most overcrowded refugee camp, built in western Tanzania for 50,000 people but now teeming with 160,000 Congolese and Burundians.

It was there the Sumuni brothers of Westwood once passed many hours playing soccer barefooted on a dirt field with a makeshift ball.

On Saturday, three of the Sumunis will be wearing cleats and kicking a regulation ball for the Congo 2 team in the World Refugee Day Cup tournament at Withrow High School. Sponsored by the Junior League of Cincinnati’s RefugeeConnect program, the soccer tournament will consist of 15 national squads – most of them African – and illustrate the slow-growing but increasing international quality of Greater Cincinnati. (read more)

Greater Cincinnati’s refugees find common ground at soccer tourney
June 4, 2016 – Cincinnati Enquirer

Excerpt: The refugee or immigrant experience is one often characterized by isolation. Communities frequently are defined by a language that is not English and made up of a limited number of people from the same homeland.

That detachment eases over time, and events like the World Refugee Day Cup tournament on Saturday at Withrow University High School can help speed the process.

“This is a great event because we realize we are not the only ones going through this,” said Bawi Uk, 16, a Sycamore High School student and soccer player from Myanmar, the former Burma in southeast Asia. “We don’t know each other. It’s nice to see we’re not the only refugees.” (read more)