A mixture of Adelaide United Youth and Reserves players took part in two exhibition matches against teams from the African community at the Parks on Saturday.
The first match saw the Young Reds face members from Football Empowerment. Football Empowerment or FE is an organisation established in the western suburbs of Melbourne in 2016 that aims to brake racial, gender, and many other barriers primarily through its community-based football programs.
FE’s main vision is to engage in young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who could potentially be at risk of disengagement.
The second game saw United Youth take on the 2019 African Nations Cup All Stars from Adelaide. The All Stars consisted of players selected in the team of the tournament from the African Nations Cup back in October, which was won by Liberia.
The team was picked by a selection committee and incidentally has representation from eight African countries.
In conjunction with African Communities Council, this game will further give players and coaches from the All Stars the experience to play against the best young talent in South Australia and also impress the Adelaide United coaches and football staff.
The Club has a strong connection with the African community with our players making regular visits to local organisations such as the Welcoming Centre, One Culture and even inviting the Burundian drummers to attend home matches at Coopers Stadium, enhancing the atmosphere.
Adelaide also has several players of African heritage in its youth and senior squads. The likes of Al Hassan Toure, Pacifique Niyongabire and Kusini Yengi, currently with the first-team, as well as former player and incumbent Socceroo Awer Mabil are just some of the players of African heritage that have represented the Reds.
