The sounds of sport filled the air in Utica this past weekend, but despite the time of year, it wasn’t the crack of the bat that was heard. More than 10 percent of the city’s population is made up of refugees, and they were playing a different game.
In Utica’s Proctor Park, between a baseball diamond and basketball court, several fields were full of sounds of “the beautiful game.”
It’s the sixth Redeemer Cup international soccer tournament, a sort of mini-World Cup in central New York. Fifteen teams competed this year, comprised of refugees and immigrants.
Paul Schilling, pastor of the Redeemer Church, which runs the tournament, says the goal is for old and new Uticans to get to know their neighbors.
“We’ve got Somali Bantu, we’ve got East Africa, we’ve got Iraq. We’ve got two different Karen teams,” said Schilling.
Most of the players are from this city known for its embrace of refugees.
“Utica has over 25 different nationalities, some refugees, some immigrant, but they all know soccer. So we thought that’s the common denominator,” said Schilling.
The players have embraced the idea, making new friends and, says midfielder Jose Mendez, who is from El Salvador, getting reacquainted with old ones.
“Soccer, or as we say football, brings people together. That’s the beauty of it. The Bosnian team we just faced, most of them were in high school with me,” said Mendez.
Kareem Hamad, a nursing student from Iraq says he waits for the tournament every year.
“It’s definitely beautiful. The feeling I have, I couldn’t sleep last night. I was so excited. I tried to sleep, I went to bed at 11, up until 3,” said Hamad.
The games were played all weekend long on four side-by-side fields, with balls occasionally bouncing from one to another. Players hung out between games. Fans wandered from match to match. Many sat in bleachers under umbrellas to shield them from the sun.
Utica City Court Judge Ralph Eannance watched from right behind the goal.
I’m rooting for Iraq this game,” said Eannance. “It’s so exciting, it’s a lot of fun. I have some friends playing on at least two diff teams that I’ve gotten to know these past few years.”
A few rows back, Nan Han was pulling for the other side.
“I’m cheering for the Redeemer Burmese team.”
Han is a senior at Utica’s Proctor High, and will head to college next fall. The tournament, she says, reveals something about her adopted city.
“It tells me that we’re not afraid to be together. We’re not afraid of our differences. Other countries…we’re just together as one,” said Han.
But this tournament is not all brotherly love. Make no mistake, on the field, these guys want to win, says Jose Mendez.
“It’s serious. People take it to the fullest, to the heart. This is some people’s …dinner. Know what I’m saying?”
As one fan said, the ball is a circle so you never know who is going to win. This year the Iraq team -- and Utica -- came out the winners.
