Advertisements
Advertisements
By Omar Thabet
The Hamtramck City F.C. soccer club are your 2023 Yemen Cup Champions! This is their second time winning the trophy in four years.
This year the 4th annual Yemen Soccer Cup tournament was held from July 18th-23rd in Memphis, Tennessee.
There were 12 teams who took part in the tournament. The 12 teams were: Hamtramck City F.C., Shabab Alyemen, AIM Michigan (Dearborn), Yemen United (Michigan), Yemen United (California), Bay Area United (California), Yemen United (New York), Atlanta, Georgia, YASA United (Tennessee), Mississippi United, Alahli (North Carolina), and Alabama United.
The Yemen Cup Event
The Yemen Cup is an event that brings Yemeni people together from all across the United States of America. Soccer may be the main focus of the Yemen Cup event, but that’s not the only competition which was held that weekend.
There was a marathon, chess and quran recitation competition that took place that weekend as well.
One of the organizers of the event, Mohamed Alduais, who is also the vice president of Hamtramck City F.C., said he was proud of the turnout and how things were organized this year.
“Everyone came together, got along and had a good time. The competitions were intense, but overall the representatives respected one another and showed great sportsmanship. It’s great to see this tournament grow year after year.”
Wafi Alriyashi, who is the head coach for Hamtramck City F.C., said the tournament gets better every year.
“It’s always great to get together and have these events,” Wafi said. “You sometimes forget how many Yemenis there are in America. Everywhere you turned you saw a Yemeni that you haven’t seen in a while from a different city in America. And for that we are thankful for those people who helped organize this event.”
The Tournament
Last year, The 3rd annual Yemen Soccer Cup Tournament was held in Michigan. The teams played games in Dearborn and in Hamtramck. The winners of last year’s tournament was Dearborn’s AIM Michigan.
AIM Michigan defeated Hamtramck City FC in the semifinal game last year with a final score of 2-1. Well this year, Hamtramck City F.C. got their revenge and beat AIM Michigan in the semis with a final score of 2-1.
In the championship final Hamtramck City F.C went up against California’s Yemen United and won that game with a final score of 3-0. This gave Hamtramck City F.C. a first place finish and their second overall Yemen Cup trophy. Hamtramck City F.C won their first Yemen Cup trophy in the inaugural year of the tournament.
Head Coach Wafi Alriyashi was proud of his players and the way that they played in the tournament.
“A lot of our teams in the tournament stayed in the same hotel,” Coach Wafi said. “So I told my players ‘you’re either going to walk through that hotel lobby door with a smile on your face or a frown on your face. You make the choice’. And our players responded by playing hard throughout the tournament and were able to bring the trophy back home.”
But the Yemen Cup trophy wasn’t the only hardware that representatives from Hamtramck City F.C brought home that weekend.
Beginning with Head Coach Wafi Alriyashi, he brought home the ‘Coach of the Tournament’ award. Atoumane Dia brought home the ‘Top Goal Scorer of the Tournament’ award. Esmail Hidan brought home the ‘Goalie of the Tournament’ award. Lastly, Mujeeb Nahsal, Atoumane Dia, Mohamed Albehri, Ahmed Alzmzami and Albehri Albehri each received ‘man of the match’ awards throughout the tournament.
Support
Once Hamtramck City F.C. got back to Michigan the city of Hamtramck held a celebration for the team for winning the cup. There was a parade and later a dinner for the team which was held at Azaal Hall. Many public figures attended the dinner in support of the team, including Hamtramck’s Mayor and council members.
Coach Wafi Alriyashi said he and his team appreciate the support from the city.
“There’s no better feeling in the world then to see the city that you play for come together to pay their respects,” Wafi said. “But it shouldn’t stop there. We win these tournaments because of the financial support we get from business owners and sponsors as well. Every year we are trying our best to raise money so that we can go out to tournaments like this one. So supporting us financially means alot to us too.”
Mohamed Alduais uttered the same sentiment that Coach Wafi did when it comes to support, especially now with Hamtramck City F.C. starting a youth league for the club.
Alduais said, “ We had over 200 kids sign up for our youth league. We charge the kids’ parents a small monthly fee which barely takes care of the field rental. We still need money for things like jersey’s, equipment, bus rentals, etc. Our coaches don’t even get paid, they are just volunteering. So we need all of the financial support we can get.”
The Hamtramck City F.C. soccer club is doing amazing things in the community. If you or someone you know wants to help the team raise funds, please contact Head Coach Wafi Alriyashi or Vice President Mohamed Alduais.
From all of us at The Yemeni American News we want to once again say congratulations to Hamtramck City F.C. for winning the 4th Annual Yemen Soccer Cup!
Full OZ Media Video Interview is here:
SZ.2/EP. 42 of The Fantasy Guyz II 4th Annual Yemeni Soccer Cup Champions II with Wafi Alriyashi & Mohamed Alduais
Advertisements
