Twenty-three-year-old Kevin Opia shares a passion for football with her twin brother Robert.
“He’s my biggest role model in this game. I look up to him,” she says.
She used to tag along with him and his mates whenever they would go to the local park for a kickabout.
“I’d always just kind of watch them, and sometimes even join them if they’d let me.”
The Kama Umoja Women’s Cup will be an eight-team tournament aimed at encouraging and driving participation in football for women and girls from the African diaspora and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities.
Building on the surge in popularity of women’s football following the transformative FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™, Kama Umoja Incorporated are delighted to announce the launch of the Kama Umoja Women’s Cup.
Hosted at Wanderers Football Park, the tournament will officially kick off on the weekend of 25 – 27 October and run for three weekends with the Finals Day on Saturday, 9 November 2024.
The newly launched female centred initiative will see the competing teams don the colours of African nations in a celebration of heritage, culture and sport.
Coming from Sierra Leonean heritage, Kama Umoja Incorporated President, Philicia Kabia, expressed her delight in the culmination of months of work.
“Watching the FIFA Women’s World Cup last year in Australia, I was able to see up close the celebration of women in sport, but it was much more than that,” she said.
“The tournament saw a celebration of what women are capable of achieving when they are provided opportunities and when space is created for them to shine.
Watching the Matildas captivate the nation and witnessing players from African nations like Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Morocco thrive in the tournament provided a sense of immense pride in both parts of my African Australian identity.”
“It also ignited a deeper fire in me to create those spaces for women and girls from African heritage here in Australia. Spaces and opportunities that I didn’t have when I arrived in this country and that I want to ensure the next generation have full access to.”
A champion for diversity and inclusion in football, the Western Sydney Wanderers will partner with the Kama Umoja Women’s Cup to provide access to facilities and coaching expertise.
Arriving in Australia in 2008 also from Sierra Leone, Vice President, Aminata Madua, echoed the sentiment.
“I have always loved football since my childhood in Sierra Leone and have been involved in the game in various capacities,” she said.
“However, it has not always been easy to find ways to play and have meaningful engagement as an African Australian woman in the game. There have been multiple barriers from cultural to financial to the opportunity gap and I think now is the time to seriously work to address them for our community.”
“We want to level the playing field. Being part of launching a female centred tournament for women and girls from the African diaspora and CALD communities is exciting to ensure there is an intersectional approach to access, equality and inclusion in football.”
As well as the match play over the three weekends, the Kama Umoja Women’s Cup activity will include access to free coaching licences for all participants, cultural and educational sessions for parents, caregivers, and key decision makers and “Come and try” sessions in a culturally safe environment for women and girls to get their first taste of the football.
The tournament will be administered by a seven member committee all with African Australian heritage and strong playing and administrative ties to football. Working alongside Kabia and Madua will be Sofia William, Clement Waoci, Akwasi Appiah, Keiha Jalloh, Aminata Kamara, Francis Odong and Ann Odong.
More information about the 2024 Kama Umoja Women’s Cup competition will be released in the coming weeks.
Teams can submit their Expression of Interest on the website and volunteers can register for future information here.
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