Anabaptist World Cup started on July 23, 2015, in at Logan Park in Dillsburg, Pa. This is the first soccer tournament for Mennonite World Conference in Harrisburg, Pa.
Players range from ages 6 to 72.
The teams were intentionally diversified by country, gender and age, said Andrew Good, organizer.
“Everyone is having a good time so far,” Good said. “Some people take it more seriously than others but everyone is having fun. It is nice to spend time outside the convention center.”
There are 16 teams in two divisions that will play today through Saturday. Each team wears a different color of a souvenir t-shirt. The scoring is three points for a win, one for a tie and none for a loss. The winners of the Anabaptist World Cup will be announced Saturday night.
"I signed up to meet people from all over the world," said Tessa Hedrick of Waterloo, Ontario.
“I used to play futbol a lot,” said Felix Kanyamoneza of Burundi, so he immediately signed up when he heard about the Anabaptist World Cup.
Players and spectators must preregister and prepay for the shuttle to Dillsburg—40 minutes from Harrisburg.
Anna Groff is executive director of The Mennonite. This article was written for Meetinghouse, a group of Mennonite publications.
See also the background story, “First ever Anabaptist World Cup set for PA 2015.”
Players have fun in the first ever Anabaptist World Cup during the Mennonite World Conference Assembly held in Harrisburg, Pa. (Photo by Dale D. Gehman)
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