Penn students this weekend harnessed a new power in the fight against AIDS in Africa: soccer.
This past Saturday, 24 teams of three players gathered in Hutchinson Gymnasium for the first-annual "Lose the Shoes 3v3" soccer tournament.
The event was organized by Penn AIDS Awareness to raise funding for the non-profit organization Grassroot Soccer, which trains professional soccer players to educate African youths and motivate them to fight HIV/AIDS.The tournament was the finale of a week of events on campus marking World AIDS Day.
College sophomore Mariama Perry, who helped run the tournament, said members of Grassroot Soccer go to villages in Africa to "play soccer, have fun and then talk about AIDS."
Grassroot Soccer operates in 12 African countries, primarily in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Members of the organization believe that "role models have a unique power to influence."
There have been over 70 "Lose the Shoes 3v3" tournaments worldwide that have raised $125,000 overall to support Grassroot Soccer.
President of Penn AIDS Awareness and women's varsity soccer player College junior Allyson Gordon said the event was "much greater than anything I thought it would be."
Gordon learned about Grassroot Soccer while playing in a tournament in Israel.
She said soccer transcends countries and cultures more than any other sport.
"There is no language of soccer," she added.
While the event was designed to raise money, Penn AIDS Awareness also hoped it would inspire individual Penn students to become active in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Once the 10-minute games began however, the focus was on the soccer.
Wharton junior and member of team "Scorsby" Mike Dixon played in a chicken suit.
"An ESPN poll said that we were the favorites," he joked.
College junior Alex Takakuwa, a member of men's varsity soccer, played for team "The Little Labowski Urban Achievers." He said his team would win the tournament "if all goes according to plan."
At the event, Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies donated a signed baseball for a raffle and Scott Hartnell of the Philadelphia Flyers gave a signed puck.
