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Featured, News

Atlanta to Host The 2011 Ethiopian Soccer Tournament

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Above: Atlanta edges out Toronto to host the next Ethiopian
Soccer Tournament. (Photo by Kal Kassa/Tadias Magazine file)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Tuesday, September 21, 2010

New York (Tadias) – The Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America has announced that Atlanta will be hosting the organization’s soccer tournament for 2011. The tournament site was selected by the group’s nine-member Executive Committee.

The federation’s spokesperson Fassil Abebe confirmed the decision: “Yes, Atlanta has been selected as the 2011 Tournament/Festival site after carefully considering the bids from Toronto and Atlanta,” Fassil told Tadias Magazine.

The 2011 tournament will mark its fourth return to Atlanta. The city’s Ethiopian soccer team is also four time champion of the national competition, bringing the trophy home in 1994 and 1997 while winning the cup at home games in 1998 and 2005. Atlanta hosted the ESFNA soccer tournament & festivities in 1986, 1998, and 2005.

The announcement dashes the hopes of the runner-up Ethio Star, Toronto’s Ethiopian soccer team, who put up a spirited bid to host the upcoming event.

“After thoroughly examining the proposals from both Atlanta and Toronto, the Executive Committee (EC) has selected Atlanta as the 2011 Tournament site,” ESFNA said in a brief statement posted on its website. “The EC and Board of Directors of ESFNA will hold their Winter meeting in Atlanta October 16 and 17, 2010.”

The annual gathering, which next year celebrates its 28th anniversary, goes far beyond sports entertainment, allowing families and friends in North America’s Ethiopian immigrant community to come together in celebration of sports and their cultural heritage. The tournament week is a popular time for networking, alumni gatherings, small business catering, music performances, and reunion parties. Hosting also offers a variety of benefits to the community, including local economic impact stemming from hotel, transportation, food and other-related purchases.

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Cover Image: At the 2010 San Jose Ethiopian Soccer Tournament by Kal Kassa.

Related from Tadias archives:
Photo Journal: San Jose Ethiopian Soccer Tournament 2010—

Photos from Chicago: Ethiopian Soccer Tournament 2009 (Tadias)

Events, Featured

Ethiopian Torontonians Gearing Up For 12th Ethiopian Day Celebration

Above: 12th annual Ethiopian Day Celebration, hosted by the
Ethiopian Association in the GTA- scheduled for this weekend.

Tadias Magazine
Events News

Published: Tuesday, September 7, 2010

New York (Tadias) – Ethiopian Torontonians are gearing up for their city’s 12th annual Ethiopian-Canadian Day Celebration, scheduled to take place this coming weekend at Christie Pits Park in Toronto.

The day long event features a variety of booths, arts, crafts, food and live entertainment – including Ethiopian music, reggae and other African grooves, organizers announced.

The yearly festivities, which also serve as a celebration of enqutatash (New Year) for the estimated 50,000 Ethiopians in the Greater Toronto Area, is organized by The Ethiopian Association in the GTA and Surrounding Regions. “It is with sense of obligation to preserve and promote our heritage that the Ethiopian Community in Toronto has taken over the task of organizing such an event,” the organization noted on its website following last year’s activities. “As in the past, our Association took charge of planning, budgeting and coordination of tasks.”

According to Yeamrot Taddese, Tadias Magazine’s contributing reporter from Toronto, the upcoming event is a high-spirited affair for Ethiopians in Canada.

“In no other festivity do local Ethiopians’ spirit, talent and culinary skills shine as they do on the annual day-long Ethiopian New Year’s celebration,” Yeamrot wrote in her recent series of articles about the city’s Ethiopian soccer team Ethio Star’s pending bid to host the 2011 tournament managed by the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA).

“The event, also dubbed ‘Ethiopian Day,’ is the most anticipated gathering in the community that features live music, rising Ethiopian entrepreneurs, social justice advocates and lots of injera.”

If You Go:
12th annual Ethiopian-Canadian Day Celebration
Saturday, September 11, 2010
10am to 11pm
at Christie Pits Park
Learn more at Ethiocommun.org
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Cover Image: Photos from the event flyer.

Note: Is your city hosting Ethiopian New Year’s celebration? Send us the details at info@tadias.com.

News, Reviews

Ethiopian Soccer Tournament: Delay to announce host city has Toronto organizers fed up

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Above: The most recent tournament was held in San Jose, CA
Toronto and Atlanta are the front runners for 2011. (File photo)

Tadias Magazine
By Yeamrot Taddese

Published: Friday, August 13, 2010

Toronto, Canada (Tadias) – The Ethiopian Soccer Federation in North America (ESFNA) was supposed to announce the next soccer tournament host city on July 4 but bidding cities are still waiting for a decision.

Tournament organizers in Toronto said if the delay continues, their city will lose a rate offer from the Royal York Hotel, one of the hotels where discounted reservation has been made to accommodate visitors. “A decision will need to be made very soon to be able to hold the space for [the tournament],” wrote Shelley Crawford, the Account Director of Sports from Tourism Toronto to the organizing committee. “Royal York’s offer will expire late August.”

Samuel Getachew, the communications director of Toronto’s Ethiopian soccer team, Ethio Star, has also been working to complete ESFNA’s criteria of a host city. “It has been six weeks and I am now questioning my confidence in working with the federation,” he said. He added that he personally believes ESFNA is having a hard time choosing between Toronto and its competition Atlanta. “But leadership is about making decisions.”

Getachew, who is running for city councillor in Toronto, said he and his team are still making sure they provide everything ESFNA asks for. If the games don’t come to Ontario’s capital next year, Getachew said he will resign his post as a member of the organizing committee of tournament.

The organizing team and other Torontonian Ethiopians told Tadias in June that it is about time their city hosted the soccer games. ESFNA must include Canada to live up to its name as a North American sports federation, they had said.

This week, the Ethiopian community in Ontario’s capital succeeded in having September officially recognized as Ethiopian Heritage Month by the City of Toronto.

ESFNA spokesperson Fassil Abebe said the delay is a result of some “unfinished business.” He said the federation is still seeking supporting documents from Toronto and Atlanta. He added that decision will be made by August 15. The organizing committee in Toronto has not been made aware of this date.

The last time Toronto hosted the games was in 2000 and Atlanta in 2005.

Support of the community to the sports, availability of a large stadium, closing venue and a member team are some of the criteria ESFNA is looking at. Abebe said he will not say what each city currently lacks.

Abebe also said the criticism that ESFNA excludes Canada despite its name does not hold. “There are cities [in the United States] that have never hosted the games,” he said. “Yes, it has been 10 years but Toronto has at least hosted the tournament twice.” He added that Calgary was one of the four non-member teams which competed to become a member in San Jose this year.

Endale Tufer, Atlanta’s tournament organizer said it is not the first time a delay is happening but he said he could not comment about the implications of the hold-up on Atlanta’s preparations.

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Cover Image: At the 2010 San Jose Ethiopian Soccer Tournament by Kal Kassa.

About the Author:
Yeamrot Taddese is a journalism student at the University of Toronto, Canada. She is also a contributing reporter for Tadias Magazine.

Related from Tadias:
Photo Journal: San Jose Ethiopian Soccer Tournament 2010—

Toronto Says It Has What It Takes to Host the Tournament

Photos from Chicago: Ethiopian Soccer Tournament 2009 (Tadias)