Story: Khalid Salih El-Hakli
The Shaibi organisation organised a football tournament to bring all different members of the community together.
The role of the organisation is primarily to support the Yemeni community in Sheffield and beyond. We received funding of £1000 from Burngreave Community First for two sessions of football a week for 6 months. From these sessions, we collected subscriptions which went towards setting up the Shaibi Charity Cup.
Sixteen teams entered the cup and the games were played to a very high competitive standard. The turnout was around 200 people.
Trophies and cash prizes of £150 were awarded to the teams who made the final: World Class and Steel City Yemenis.
Steel City Yemenis came out winners in a close-fought final. It ended up going to a penalty shoot-out. It was fitting that Steel City Yemenis won, as their name shows the history of our parents and grandparents, who worked hard for many years in the steel industry.
A well-respected guest from the Shaibi community in the USA, Abdul Salam Saqladi, handed out the prizes and trophies.
We would also like to say a big thank-you to Power League for hosting the tournament and World Class in Pitsmoor Road for their sponsorship and refreshments on the day.
We hope to plan many more events in the future for the people of Burngreave.