There is one girls soccer team on the island of Zanzibar and they call themselves the New Generation Queens. It is no surprise to those who know me that finding the girls soccer team was one of the first things I set out to do upon arriving in Zanzibar in March. When I found this team I felt like I entered a whole new Zanzibar. The girls were awesome. Some arrived in full hijab/veils but they played in shorts and left with backwards hats on. They were awesome (have i mentioned that?). They were much better than me. And they weren't afraid of the boys. I first befriended someone named Hafiza, but then Didah took me under her wing as well. The girls all walked me home that first night and we stopped along the way so that I could try "local ice cream" and sugarcane juice along the side of the road. The next day, Didah brought me to practice again and she had a Zanzibar t-shirt for me as well as a Zanzibar bracelet. It was incredibly kind.
When I came back to Zanzibar this month, I went to play soccer with the girls as soon as I could. I played in an official tournament with them as well as a match against a guys team. But they kept asking about when my wanafunzi (students) would arrive so that we could have a real girls soccer game.
Today it happened.
Zanzibar 2, USA 2
And apparently the next game is going on television. The coaches want to promote womens soccer on the island because there is only one team so they think a televised match against team USA will help the cause. We're in!
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