The Nations Cup That Brings Memphis Together
More than 1,400 people registered for the tournament and family festival that World Relief Memphis and FCA organized on October 24.
On Saturday, October 24, the Nations Cup brought together more than 1,400 registrants in Memphis, according to World Relief Memphis and the Greater Memphis Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Sixteen teams, food from many countries and an open field for neighbors to connect.
Sixteen flags on one field
The tournament has been played since 2014 and is now a tradition in the city. This year the event added a Family Festival with music, dance, kids' activities and local business booths. Vendors included Las Delicias, Blue Nile Ethiopian Kitchen, Alibaba Mediterranean Grill, Wiwis Hot Dogs and Sweet Eye Coffee. On stage were Casa Art, DLR Dance Studio, the dual-language program from Tredwell Elementary and Rumba Room.
On the field, the team representing Senegal won the tournament; Sudan's team came in second, World Relief Memphis reported. Admission was free, as every year.
«A sport that doesn't ask for your passport before putting a team together.»
Last year about 350 people played or attended. This time attendance more than doubled: more than 200 players in the tournament, more than 150 volunteers and more than 1,400 registrations in total. A neighborhood field turned into a map of the world.
The faith that opens the door
Behind the games there is a simple conviction: welcoming the newcomer is a concrete way of following Jesus. "World Relief Memphis is dedicated to welcoming our newest neighbors, driven by our faith in Jesus," said PJ Moore, director of the World Relief Memphis office (translation by Sígueme).
Bellevue Baptist Church opened its property for the event. Its senior pastor, Ben Mandrell, said the church sees that land as a gift from God and that it was an honor to use it to serve athletes from very different backgrounds and their families. Jeremy Wilbur, FCA director for West Tennessee, described the partnership as a way of joining ministry with athletes and the work of walking alongside the international community.
World Relief was born after World War II to respond to the displacement crisis in Europe. It is turning 80 and works in more than 100 countries; since the 1970s it has accompanied refugees and immigrants in the United States alongside local churches.
None of that takes soccer out of the center. It puts it in its place: a sport that doesn't ask for your passport before putting a team together.
Your field counts too
You don't need to run a tournament with sixteen national teams. Hospitality is practiced in small sizes: inviting someone who just arrived to eat, joining the neighborhood team, lending the church hall for a practice. "Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 10:19, ESV).
And one more thing: when the team wins, the neighborhood wins. When it loses, too, because the table is still set.
Ask yourself this week who is near you that you still don't know by name. That is the first game.
