Playing in support of City Football Club (“City F.C.”), a team of coaches and volunteers has won the ‘Best Foot Forward’ soccer tournament, earning a donation of $3,000 to support City F.C.’s continuing efforts to bring first-class coaching and mentoring to Washington, D.C. youth.
On June 26, 2008, international organizations, embassies, U.S. government agencies and other groups with amateur soccer teams gathered at the Bretton Woods Recreational Center to compete in the sixth annual ‘Best Foot Forward’ charity soccer tournament, organized and sponsored by the World Bank Soccer Club.
Each team contributed a $350 entry fee, a percentage of which was awarded to the charity of the first-placed team’s and second-place team’s choosing.
Hooligans F.C. – a D.C.-based coed amateur side whose players are the volunteer base that created City F.C. – entered the tournament in hopes of winning the support of City F.C. Organized and captained by City F.C. coach Roy Kelly, the Hooligans team included Osman Kabia, Ryan Rich, Rene Sanjines, Benny Hammond, Chris Arnold, Alex Ramirez and “Eto’o” Kemda Gilbert Boli, who is an 18-year-old member of City F.C.
Hooligans F.C.’s Bretton Woods trip was an unquestionable success, as the team went undefeated en route to winning the championship game 5-2.
With 66 percent of the tournament’s registration fees supporting the winning side’s charity, City F.C. received a $3,000 check from the World Bank Soccer Club, which has been used to purchase more than 50 uniform kits for City F.C.’s boys and girls team (the boys team is entering its second season this fall, while the girls will play their first season this spring..
Hooligans team-member and City F.C. coach Ryan Rich noted: “Coaching and developing the next generation of talented soccer players and responsible adults is a win-win situation for both the coaches and players. It is hard to top the satisfaction of seeing your players mature as soccer players and people.”
City F.C.’s dedication to success is apparent in the current progress it is making as a developing non-profit organization and the passion seen in the coaches, volunteers, and players alike. “Eto’o” Kemda Gilbert Boli recently capped his summer training with the City F.C. program by earning a spot on the selective D.C. United under-18 Academy Team.
For more information please visit www.CityFC.org or email CityFCDC@gmail.com.
