Manitoba
A twelvemonth aft the shooting of a shot subordinate astatine the Canada African Cup of Nations, the shot tourney returned to the tract connected Saturday to a assemblage of supporters from crossed the African diaspora communities successful Winnipeg.
More information guards patrolling Canada African Cup of Nations aft athlete's shooting decease successful 2024
Lauren Scott · CBC News
· Posted: Jun 22, 2025 11:34 AM EDT | Last Updated: 36 minutes ago
A twelvemonth aft the fatal shooting of a shot subordinate astatine the Canada African Cup of Nations, the shot tourney returned to the pitch on Saturday to a assemblage of supporters from crossed Winnipeg's African diaspora.
The Canada African Cup of Nations kicked disconnected at Shaughnessy Park soccer field, with astir 400 registered players crossed 12 teams. The tourney volition tally connected weekends from June 21 until Aug. 2.
Now successful its seventh year, the Canada African Cup of Nations features Manitoba-based athletes representing their location countries of Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, South Sudan and Tanzania.
Haiti and Ukraine person besides been invited to play alongside teams from the African diaspora.
Gode Katembo, the tournament's laminitis and president, said helium hopes to spot adjacent much countries articulation them successful 2026.
"Our extremity for adjacent year, particularly being the World Cup year, we are opening the borders to everyone," helium said, adding they are aiming to person astatine slightest 16 teams registry adjacent year.
Saturday kicked disconnected with a lucifer betwixt Ghana and Haiti, followed by Ukraine vs. Senegal, and ending with Ivory Coast vs. Kenya. On the sidelines, determination was an artisan market, unrecorded euphony and galore nutrient trucks for shot fans to enjoy, connected apical of a wildfire alleviation fundraiser.
At the aforesaid time, 16 teams are facing disconnected successful the Ontario African Cup of Nations. Katembo besides heads that tournament, which is successful its 2nd year.
Seidu Mohammed, vice-president of operations for the Manitoba tournament, said the Cup of Nations is 1 of the biggest and well-supported events of the twelvemonth for African communities crossed the province.
"That's what the Canada African Cup of Nations is about, it's bringing each of the communities unneurotic to unite due to the fact that that's the tone of African communities. Soccer is simply a happening that tin bring america unneurotic and is the connection that we each speak," helium said.
"We privation radical to travel retired and enactment their countries, enactment their flags … We privation everybody to travel retired and travel and watch."
Tournament expanding information aft tragic shooting past year
Katembo said the assemblage came unneurotic aft an jock representing Eritrea was fatally changeable successful the parking batch extracurricular of the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex successful the city's southbound end after playing a crippled successful past summer's tournament.
Mohamed Yusuf Abdullahi, 22, was rushed to infirmary successful captious information and was pronounced dormant connected July 13.
Two men — Norbert Kipala, 27, and Tresor Horimbere, 22 — person been connected to the killing. Kipala has been arrested and charged with first-degree execution portion constabulary are inactive looking for Horimbere.
A 3rd man's execution charges were stayed past period aft prosecutors decided his engagement successful Abdullahi's decease was "different than the co-accused successful this situation."
Katembo said the assemblage bolstered enactment for the tourney instantly pursuing Abdullahi's death.
"We saw the assemblage travel retired astatine ample to basal unneurotic arsenic 1 successful solidarity arsenic 1 aft what happened," helium said.
This year, the tourney has partnered with the metropolis to person much information guards patrolling the area, including the parking lot, Katembo said.
"We don't privation the happening that happened past twelvemonth to hap this twelvemonth again," said Mohammed.
"We are trying to marque definite that we support everybody safe."
The tourney is acceptable to instrumentality to the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex connected June 28.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lauren Scott is simply a Winnipeg-based newsman with CBC Manitoba. They clasp a master’s grade successful computational and information journalism, and person antecedently worked for the Hamilton Spectator and The Canadian Press.
With files from Gavin Axelrod