How to watch Cascadia v Darfur
Cascadia’s first ever home opponents will be Darfur, a region with between seven and eight million people, that has been in the headlines for the worst possible reasons in recent years.
A Troubled History
The faultline between the Arab world in North Africa and black Africa runs through Sudan, with tensions between the Muslim Arabs in the north and non-Muslims further south ever present.
In 2003, a conflict erupted in the Darfur region of Sudan when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and their allies in the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) began fighting a Sudanese administration which they saw as discriminating against Black Africans.
The Sudanese Government responded by using ethnic cleansing as a weapon of war, most notoriously utilizing the infamous Janjaweed paramilitary group to carry out atrocities. The suffering in Darfur resulted eventually in the indictment of Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court with deaths in six figures.
The war ended in 2010, the Sudanese already having lost a part of their country to the new state of South Sudan. Bashir was finally removed from power in a military coup this April.
Darfur United
The Darfur United side is run by the Darfur Football Association. The team was formed in March 2012 with representatives from twelve Darfuri refugee camps located in Chad, invited to try out for the Darfur United team. 16 players were initially selected and the team participated in the 2012 Viva World Cup, which was hosted by Kurdistan Iraq in June.
According to the Darfur United website:
The Darfur United Men’s Soccer Team represents the more than 50 ethnic groups from the western region of Darfur, Sudan. Experienced and skilled Darfuri soccer players, born in Darfur, Sudan or elsewhere to Darfuri parents, will proudly take the field on July 27.
With a majority of the team’s players located in Östersund, Sweden, the team’s roster will include new players and those making a bid for the 2020 squad.
In April 2019, the Sudanese military toppled President Bashir in a coup. Since June 3, Bashir’s successor, the Janjaweed leader responsible for genocide in the Darfur region, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, has terrorized civilians and cut off communication to the outside world.
Darfur United truly represents a movement for hope for Darfuris and Sudanese worldwide.
They made their debut in June 2012 losing 15-0 to a better prepared Northern Cyprus side in Arbil, Iraq. Moubarak Haggar Dougom scored their first ever goal against Western Sahara later that year.
They have competed in the 2012 VIVA World Cup and the 2014 ConIFA World Football Cup. Having missed the last two ConIFA World Cups, they are returning in 2020 and intend to participate in the finals in Somaliland.
There has been a move made about their experiences and August will see the Los Angeles premiere of the Darfur United documentary Not Just Football in Hermosa Beach, CA,
Today they make more history by becoming the first away side to play a ConIFA match on the American continent as they prepare to face Cascadia, playing their first ever home match.
Kick off is at 1pm at French Field in Kent and fans can pay at the gate. Entry is $10.
