Above: Mohamed Musa is part of the Somali Bantu ethnic group and the organizer of the event.
This Thanksgiving weekend, hundreds of people are expected to attend the International Indoor Cup, a men’s soccer tournament in Louisville that will include 16 amateur teams from across the country.
All 16 teams will get a chance to play on Saturday. On Sunday, there will be an elimination round.
The teams — whose players range in age from 15 to 30 years old — are traveling from places such as Tennessee, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Missouri.
Twenty-two year old Mohamed Musa is part of the Somali Bantu ethnic group and the organizer of the event. He’ll also be playing and coaching.
“When I first came up with the idea was mainly for my community,” he says. “‘Cause I wanted people who haven’t seen each other since Africa. Then the idea changed to international — get other communities involved and make a very big tournament.”
It’s also a chance for players to get to know Louisville.
“Four months ago, I just had the idea … wouldn’t this be great to have one big tournament in Louisville,” says Musa. “Bring everybody together. Have them come to Louisville, see the state, see the city and play soccer.”
The event on Nov. 25 and 26 is free to attend. It will be held at the Oldham County Family YMCA Indoor Arena. It begins with an opening ceremony at 8 a.m. and continues through 10 p.m.
On Sunday, the matches are from 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. More information about the event can be found here.
