United African Premier Soccer League aims to bring community, opportunity to Colorado's African population
The smell of West African meat pies and Ndambe, a type of bean sandwich, fills the Colorado air as Amro Ahmed is planning his goal celebration with some young kids.
The 17-year-old Sudanese-American has 10 goals this season and is a rising star in the United African Premier Soccer League.
"I loved the concept of an African community coming together and making a league and I just really had to join the league at that point," Ahmed says.
It started with a single youth team called Bright Stars.
"Many of us have kids and we thought, 'why don't we do something for our young kids?'" said Philip Alvaro, who helps coach the youth teams.
But eventually, Alvaro and league founder John Abum noticed plenty of adults that also wanted to play. Currently, the league is up to 16 teams representing different African nations with the goal of helping those new to the United States find community through athletics.
"When we started the league we wanted to make sure that we are an African community in the United States," Abum explained.
It's also giving opportunities to those of less means within the community. Soccer in the U.S. is complicated. Typically, in other nations, academies and competitions are relatively cheap, whereas in states like Colorado there is what is called a 'pay to play' model; the more money you have, the more training and exposure you can get for an athlete.
Ahmed said the UAPSL is able to give chances to those who don't have the money to compete that way.
"I think it's a really big issue and I think this league solves that issue for the Colorado community, especially," he said.
And the community has certainly made its support known; at the quarterfinal match between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and one of the two Sudanese teams, over 150 people were on hand at the Lowry Sports Complex. To many, the league represents more than just soccer.
"It's really a league for all the new refugees that come in and all the immigrants," said Sudan team captain Saad Hissein. "For all the people that don't have a team that is looking to get on a team to play in competitive leagues."
To many, it represents reclaiming identity. Borders on the African continent were drawn up by colonial powers, ignoring longstanding tribal borders, ethnic group dynamics and creating many of the problems that plague so many countries today. While those conflicts rage at home, members of the league believe that soccer can be a unifier for those who come to the U.S. and present a peaceful, unified front as an example for those back home.
"We want to make sure that if we are able to help the people back home and unite as we are doing in the diaspora, I think that is important for us," Abum said.
"No matter your ethnicity, no matter where you come from, no matter your tribe, no matter your religion, it's only futbol," explained Ani Ukoh, a former Nigerian international who coached the Eagles U-23 team and spent time in the Colorado Rapids coaching program. "It's only soccer that brings us all together."
As the community coalesces around each other in the U.S., it allows for dual-national Americans to tap into their heritage as well. Someone like Amro Ahmed is able to be around people like his family, speak a heritage language and experience a more full life in the U.S.
"There's Sudan, Gabon, Tanzania, a bunch of countries," he said. "But in this league, we don't think of ourselves Sudanese, South African or Senegalese. We think of ourselves as African. So it's being a part of something bigger and something greater."
CBS News Colorado is excited to sponsor Aurora's Global Fest this year.
For the first time at Global Fest, there will be a soccer clinic for kids hosted by the Colorado Soccer Foundation. Soccer brings immigrant groups closer together and is recognized as one of the key activities in the Aurora's Immigrant Integration Plan.
You can join us at the Aurora Municipal Center on Aug. 17 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.