Saturday | May 20, 2006

Tibetan Football Squad to Play in Wild Cup

Phayul[Friday, May 19, 2006 23:31]
By Kalsang Rinchen
 
Dharamshala May 19 - If France is against the Tibetan football team playing on its soil Germany had a completely different opinion. The Tibetan national football team was granted visa today to travel to Germany, the venue of the 2006 World Cup soccer tournament, to participate in Wild Cup, a football tournament for nations which were ignored by the world's football governing body FIFA.

Just three days before the world focuses its attention on the first game of the 2006 World Cup in Germany a few underdogs of the game will play against each other in Hamburg, in what is dubbed as the Mini World Cup.

Greenland, Gibraltar, Zanzibar and Tibet along with two German teams are competing for the Wild Cup at Millerntor Stadium of St. Pauli, a soccer club in Hamburg with a long tradition of the game.

18 Tibetan players with their coach D C Phuntsok Namgyal and manager Kalsang Dhondup will leave Delhi on 25 May to take part in the six team football tournament which begins on 29 May and goes on till 3 June.

The Tibetan national football team was denied visa to travel to France in September last year. The French Embassy reasoned that many Tibetans have illegally migrated to France.

Tibetans here believe that what the 1998 world champions of the sport did to the Tibetans was embarrassing and a move taken under pressure from China. This was reversed by this year's host of the most popular sporting event in the world.

Whether the Tibetan squad wins the tournament or not is not the question now, says many lovers of the game. "This tournament in Hamburg will surely have games after which everyone leaves the field triumphant", says Tenzin, a fan of the Tibetan squad.

The tournament was organised by the FIFI (Federation of International Football Independents).

Carat, a German company and production house called Western Star are arranging the tournament which will be broadcast live on sports channel called DSF.

Kalsang Rinchen can be contacted at editor@phayul.com
Posted by TIBET SPORTS at 16:28:43 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Friday | May 05, 2006

When the cat is away, mice will play

Times Of India[Thursday, May 04, 2006 14:45]

Hamburg - Originally a soccer celebration, the World Cup has become a money-making festival where profits come before fans and players. But a mini-Cup in Hamburg focuses on the beautiful game — pitting Tibet against Gibraltar.

World soccer’s largest stage doesn’t seem to have space for everyone looking to see what’s taking place. Using its position as judge and jury, FIFA can keep a firm grip on the world’s most popular sport.

Regulations keep fans clutching at their radios for a chance to win tickets to a game because there are no tickets left, while dust gathers on tickets that sponsors have in desk drawers. Players on the world’s biggest teams cash their million euro checks before jogging back to defend corner kicks while fans shell out a day’s wage hoping for a rare moment of honest excitement.

Organisers of a mini World Cup, however, aim to bring passion — from players and fans — back to the game by staging a tournament in Germany’s northern harbour city of Hamburg, also one of the 12 host cities for the summer’s “real” World Cup.

Tickets for the May 29 to June 3 tournament featuring Greenland, Gibraltar, Tibet, Zanzibar and Hamburg’s own FC St. Pauli — often in a class of its own when it comes to fervent supporters — will be on sale at the gate without fans having to give up any of the personal information or processing fees that FIFA demands.

All the teams playing in the tournament have been left standing on the sidelines when FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, chooses who gets to play. Legally an autonomous part of Denmark, FIFA doesn’t answer anymore when Greenland knocks — the icy island doesn’t have a grass field that meets international standards.

Part of the African Soccer Confederation since 2004, Zanzibar’s “Malindi Red Socks” wouldn’t be allowed to play in the World Cup if ever managed to qualify because FIFA does not recognise them as coming from an officially independent state. A reasoning the soccer body repeats for Gibraltar and Tibet.

Now, why do Scotland, England and Wales all get to (at least) compete for a space in the World Cup finals again?

(STORY COURTESY: DEUTSCHE WELLE) REBEL TOUR?

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Posted by TIBET SPORTS at 08:51:38 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |