On Saturday the 22nd of July a team from Bulawayo left Zimbabwe for the main destination, Norway Cup. Before they end up at Ekebergsletta, they will meet a friendship team from Halden, and spend some time with them to get to know more about Norway and the Norwegian culture and not at least the soccer.
27/06/2007 :: To be the lucky team to go representing Zimbabwe in Norway, local leagues started in January in all the country’s ten provinces. In April this particular team, going under the name YES (Youth Education through Sport) won the final.
NORAD Culture has together with NIF (Norwegian Association of Sports) and the Zimbabwean equivalent Sports & Recreation Commision funded a programme including preparations for the trip, Kicking Aids out, meeting a friendship team, playing some friendship matches in the friendship town.
The day before the team left for Norway, they came to meet members of the staff at the Norwegian Embassy to Zimbabwe, where they got some information about Norway and the staff was given a cheering dance from the girls
Every year since 1972 the big soccer tournament for young players has been held in Oslo. Since 2000 there has been Zimbabwean teams participating. This team is the fourth girls team, whilst there has been two boy teams going.
It is a half year long agreement with the team where they get prepared to go, going throug the programme kicking AIDS out and follow up when they have returned Zimbabwe.
The girls said they looked forward to see the ocean for the first time, and for most of them it is the first time to travel out of Zimbabwe.