MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

The 28th Edition of the African Soccer and Cultural Festival held at the Burnaby Lake Sports Complex-West on August 13 and 14 concluded successfully amid fun and pageantry. There were soccer 21 games among 12 African teams and cultural performances by Karakata Cultural Band and the Acholi Cultural Troupe.

The Festival brought together three hundred exuberant ball players from 12 teams and hundreds of spectators, cultural performers and sports and cultural enthusiasts that made the two days to be memorable and worth the gathering. They played, they cheered, they danced and they finally made some good noise after all that they have been through in the past. COVID-19 kept everyone indoors and on the edge for 2 solid years making us to believe that the world was coming to an end. The park presented the perfect opportunity for people to let out steams. I tell you, the general public certainly enjoyed themselves.

During the soccer competition, there were group games and knock-out games. In the end, Liberia and Nigeria locked horns in the grand finale. The match brought the best out of both teams and lasted into extra time. In the second half of extra time, the soaring Super Eagles of Nigeria were downed by a single shot. The referee’s final whistle was greeted by unbridled scenes of joy and jubilations from the Liberians that lasted throughout the evening.

Thus Liberia are the British Columbia 2022 African Soccer Champions once again! Congratulations, Lone Star of Liberia.

At this juncture, on behalf of the African Canadian Soccer and Cultural Association, I would like to thank all the participants, the City of Burnaby for their continued support, our vendors and all the supporters and spectators that participated in and attended the event. Without all of you, we would not have staged the event. Bravo to all!

We look forward to another festival in 2023 at the same venue.

Yours truly,

Jerry Gbardy
PRESIDENT