The photos and the article will be published in the hard copy of our new magazine that is coming soon
Team United Arabs defeated the defending champions, Team Gambia to win the third edition of TAT International Cup which took place on Saturday July 16 in Helsinki. Team United Arabs won the 2022 edition of the tournament after a 5:4 penalty shootouts. The game ended 2:2 after 90 minutes of play.
In the third place match, Team West Africa defeated Sierra Leone. They came from 2 goals down to beat Sierra Leone 3:2.
Team United Arabs
Photo by Jukka Luoma
Recall that Team Kenya won the first edition of the tournament, Team Gambia won last year’s tournament while Team United Arabs were crowned the winner of the 2022 edition.
Team Gambia
Photo by Jukka Luoma
Team United Arabs
Photo by Jukka Luoma
The participated teams
Match officials
Photo by Jukka Luoma
Below is the Diaspora Glitz Magazine interview with Arsene Towa, the organiser of the TAT International Cup.
When did TAT International Cup start and what led to its creation?
TAT means, Toiminnan Avulla Työelämään (TAT). The whole project started in 2016 but the TAT International Cup began in 2020. The project aims to promote the well-being and employment of young adults who have moved to the country. The football tournament is made possible through the collaboration of the different community leaders.
How many teams have been participating and what do you have to say about the progress made so far regarding the organisation and match officiating?
In the first year in 2020, we had only eight teams. Last year we had 16 teams and this year, 12 teams participated. Every year, we try to improve the tournament in terms of quality, organisation and match officiating. This year’s tournament is highly competitive and this is a major improvement when compared to last year’s tournament. This is a collaboration concept, we always train our referees with the help of Palloliitto, which is the football association of Finland. The officiating will continue to get better.
What are we expecting in the future?
We hope to get back to the 16 teams format. We encourage all the different communities in Finland to participate. It’s all about promoting our very important well-being. You can be a country, a community or a group of friends for you to participate. The registration link comes out around December.
Team West Africa, the winner of the third place
Photo by Jukka Luoma
