Phillips Academy’s African Student Union hosted the first ever Andover World Cup Soccer Tournament in an effort to raise funds for charity. Mandisa Mjamba ’10, Co-Head of ASU, said, “ASU held the fundraiser for The Friends of the Congo Organization. It is an organization based in Washington D.C. that works to bring about peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo.” Mjamba said the inspiration for the Andover World Cup came from South Africa hosting this year’s FIFA World Cup. “South Africa is hosting the FIFA World Cup games this summer, and the eyes of the world will be on Africa,” she said. “We wanted to create an even that reflected Africa being in the spotlight. We also understood that soccer is a popular sport on campus played by both males and females. More interest means more money for our cause.” “This idea was brought to the table by the ASU senior board, which included Bijan Torabi ’10, Lauren King ’10, Anthony White ’10 and myself,” said Mjamba. “The teams were required to pick a country to represent and pay $10 to benefit the cause,” said Mjamba. “Because we were limited with time, we played games of 15 minute halves and first round elimination. We had faculty members referee the games.” Mjamba said Germany won the tournament. The team consisted of Jakob Rohwer ’11, Ambika Krishnamachar ’11, Courtney Macdonald ’11, Garnet Hathaway ’10, Adrian Stone ’12, Zac Elder ’11, Zoe Roschach ’12 and Katherine Woonton ’11. “We had a really great team. We came to play and that’s what we did,” said Stone. “We had a good line-up from the start. We really excelled in the defense with me, Garnet and Zac Elder.” Roschach said, “I was forced to participate, but in the end it was a lot of fun.” Elder said, “I megged a kid and then scored a goal, the highlight of my soccer playing career.” Stone said, “There was some very tough competition out there and they all played very well.” Stone added, “We played three games. Our toughest game was against the PGs, but we ended up beating them 5-0.” Rohwer said, “I came for the ice cream because if there is ice cream I will participate, and I will win.” Stone said, “The most thrilling moment was the moment the clock ran out on the last game and we got ice-cream.” “I would definitely participate again if there was another Andover World Cup. It was fun, good exercise and a chance to hang out with other people. It was a great experience,” he continued. “Because this was a fundraiser, we didn’t want to shadow the cause by giving a prize,” said Mjamba. “However, it was a hot day and winners were given ice-cream bars.” Mjamba said, “In total, we raised almost $200 with the help of an outside donor.” “Hopefully ASU will do this again next year,” said Mjamba, “I believe this was a perfect and successful pilot for an annual Andover World Cup.”
