Sydney, Australia—A football tournament was held to celebrate Australians’ multicultural backgrounds and promote harmony among them.
The Third Multicultural Peace Cup soccer tournament took place on November 6, 2016, at the Ultimate Indoor Sports facility in Silverwater, a suburb of Sydney.
This time, 12 soccer teams competed, whereas in the first year there were four teams and in the second year, eight teams. The competition is meant to encourage sportsmanship and fair play.
UPF Australia organized the tournament together with the Sydney Friendship Group, an association that supports the health and education of orphans, migrants and asylum seekers, and Iraqi Renaissance, an organization that helps the Iraqi-Australian community.
In a spirit of friendly competition, the teams competed in knockout rounds, with the ultimate victors being the Iraqi Renaissance team. The Auburn United team was the runner-up.
Other teams competing were from Nepal, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Sudan. Ali Rezai from Auburn United received the Best Player trophy, and Nicky from the Myanmar team received the Sportsmanship trophy.
Support for the event was provided by the volunteer youth initiative known as Oceania Leadership Team, as well as volunteers from the Sydney chapters of UPF and Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), an affiliated organization.