On 21st and 22th December 2019, HIRDA successfully organized again the HIRDA Tournament “Amsterdam Futsal Tournament”(AFT) 2019. The team from Nijmegen won The AFT 2019 and Team from Leuven (BL) took second place in AFT 2019. Minister of the youth and sport of Somali federal government, minister of youth and sport of the south west regional state of Somalia, head of sport of Amsterdam municipality Mr. Henk Stockhof were among the guest of the tournament and our side event of HIRDA achievers Award this year.
The Tournament is a yearly Hotspot of the Somali youth in Europe where the young Somalis from EU, the prominent Somali Diaspora, the policymakers and politicians meet and discuss issues relating to Somali Diaspora youth and how Somalis can contribute to the country of origin. The tournament promotes the empowerment of youth through sport.
A total of 24 teams participated the tournament this year whereby 15 from the Netherland and nine from Belgium, Norway, Germany UK and Austria. the team from Holland were: Nijkerk, schiedam, Amstelveen, Den haag,, Rotterdam, Arnhem , Utrecht, Oss, Zwolle, Berg op zoom, Winterswijk Nijmegen, Amsterdam, Eindhoven and Babbericht .
It began with a qualification match on the 21st of December 2019. 12 teams were qualified for the second day of the tournament. they have divided again into four groups of three.
the aim of the tournament is to build the network of the Somali youth in Europe and their coaches so that communities can learn from each other and share their experiences where they came from. this is one of the events that Somali youth waits all year and we are committed to organizing each year.
Besides the tournament, HIRDA organizes side events for discussion between the youth, coaches and the youth themself. For such last two years, we included this year’s HIRDA achievers award (HAA) for the Somali individuals who have contributed to the community or achieved something in the Netherlands. At the opening ceremony participant were given 5 statements discuss related to sport, education, women’s participation, and the ways to contribute to the development in Somalia. The event was a great success and will be organized this year as well.
The Model of this event is self-sufficient, but this year we have got support from Dahabshiil money transfer, diaspora capital, Suri change, and HIRDA.