SKF Zambia is a proud host of the ‘Meet the World’ football tournament with all the action getting underway on 11 April 2025 at the ISL School grounds in the country’s capital, Lusaka.
This marks SKF Zambia’s second time hosting the tournament; the local 2014 event produced two teams who represented Zambia at Gothia Cup in Sweden. The 2024 BBC Footballer of the Year, Barbara Banda, was a member of the 2014 series’ Zambian contingent that saw the under-17 girls team qualify for the round of 16 competition.
“Football unites Zambians!” says Kashiya Musonda, Sales Coordinator and Customer Service Support at SKF Zambia. “So, it’s always with a sense of pride that SKF once again hosts this event; it’s so much more than a soccer tournament. The initiative fosters community engagement and showcases our distinctive brand of football to the rest of the world.”
Kashiya adds that, with over 60 years of presence in Zambia, SKF remains dedicated to contributing to the nation’s future. “This soccer event underscores our lasting impact. We are honoured to have supported Barbara Banda at the beginning of her career and we, at SKF Zambia, pledge our commitment to continue nurturing the next generation of talent, with the goal of empowering future stars like Barbara.”
This year, teams from six clubs have been invited from the rural parts of Lusaka to participate in the one-day tournament to compete for the local Cup; Kaunda Square Queens, Black Stars Ladies, Kanyama Bulls, Fearless Sports Academy, Bauleni Sprots Academy and Kalingalinga Town Queens will battle it out for top honours. The victors will travel to Göteborg, Sweden, in July, to represent Zambia in the largest international youth football tournament in the world, Gothia Cup.
Every July, Sweden’s second largest city is immersed in a true soccer fest – 40,000 players, 80 countries, 4,500 games and 110 soccer fields. From 275 teams at the 1975 inaugural event, Gothia Cup has grown exponentially to currently around 1,700 teams with some one million individuals from 148 countries having attended the tournament to date.
As the main Gothia Cup sponsor, SKF recognises the value of this prestigious event in promoting teamwork, responsibility, equality and youth engagement globally. It fosters connections and cultural exchange through football, regardless of religion, skin colour or culture. This prompted SKF to create the vibrant Gothia Cup pre-tournaments, known as ‘Meet the World’, in all its subsidiary countries. The goal of these tournaments is to provide young people from a kaleidoscope of backgrounds the opportunity to connect and discover the richness of each other’s differences while enjoying the game of football. Aptly named ‘Meet the World’, these local tournaments reflect and capture the same diversities, comraderies and values of the main event, the Gothia Cup in Sweden.
“From SKF Zambia – good luck to all six teams playing in the Local Cup in April – you are all champions. And to the wining team – bring the Gothia Cup home!” concludes Kashiya.
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