The Georgia Stars from Atlanta, Georgia bagged the trophy of the fourth interstate soccer tournament, Sunday, beating Ohio team in the final battle against 4-1 scores.
The winning team also received a cash award of US $2,001, while the second runner up got US $1,501, according to the organizers.
Altogether, 40 teams from various states participated in the tournament organized by the Organization of Bhutanese American Youths (OBAY), co-founded by Devi C Subedi and Ganga Gurung, in Erie, Pennsylvania.
There were around 760 players, and more than 2,000 people watched the games, organizers informed the Bhutan News Service.
Dilli Bhattarai, who scored 11 goals in different six matches, became “man of the tournament”. Likewise, Lokendra Khadra from Georgia Stars was declared “man of the final match”, while Cincinnati, Ohio received the award of the “best team”.
According to them, 28 matches were played on the first day in four different fields. The second day saw 12 matches, leading the finale for the third day, which was organized at the Veteran Stadium of Erie, PA.
Around 50 OBAY members and 10 seniors Bhutanese players from California, Georgia, Nashville, Buffalo, and Ohio volunteered to make the tournament successful. Local certified referees monitored the games.
Coordinator of the tournament, Ganga Gurung, said that OBAY served foods to about 1,200 people including the players and visitors during the tournament, and was managed by a team of 20 volunteers.
The annual tournament will be held in Nashville, Tennessee next year. The entire tournament saw expenses of around US $32,000.
A group of former Bhutanese soccer players from Atlanta, Georgia initiated the scheme of organizing interstate soccer tournament on annual basis in 2011 by organizing the first game in Atlanta, Georgia. The second and third tournaments were held in California and Texas respectively.
Contributed by Devi Subedi-B from Erie, PA for BNS. All photos used are courtesy of OBAY.
