Sofia Sofia here we come…..

This is how the team representing the Armenian Community of the Northern Emirates hailed the decision taken by the committee to participate in the 10th Euro Armenian Games, organized by AGBU- Sofia Chapter.

The guys prepared well to this journey and on April the 6th the team flew to Bulgaria after a strenuous process to get the visas and travel organized.

April 6th, the team landed in Sofia, and headed directly to Park Hotel Vitosha where the rest of the participants were staying.  A brief training session was organized to get familiarized with the court and to get over the overnight travel stress.  The team thereafter visited the Armenian Church in Sofia where the Ceremony of Good Friday was ongoing and participated to the mass with the Armenian community in Sofia. The first day  ended in a nice traditional Bulgarian restaurant. But hey, although it is a Bulgarian, the guys insisted on transferring it into an Armenian restaurant forcing the Tzigan musicians to play Armenian songs and we all chanted along.

April 7th, the Opening Ceremony.  After the Bulgarian National Anthem, the speeches, the guys realized that the Armenian National Anthem was not played, hence they took the initiative and started chanting. The entire stadium was on its feet chanting with us.

Dubai was in a group known as the group of death !!! Azad Plovdiv (Bulgarian Professional Futsal team), Sassoun Lugano (Swiss), FC Paris Louys (Paris). The first game was against Sassoun Lugano, where we drew 2-2, the second we lost against Azad Plovdiv 2-0.  It is worth noting that Azad Plovdiv won its game against Sassoun Lugano (7-0) and also won the tournament.  Day 1 of the tournament was closed by a nice dinner and dancing atmosphere.

April 8th, day 2 of the tournament,  the team played its last game and drew against FC Paris Louys 2-2.  The Dubai team was commended for its organization and for having the best uniform in the tournament. A Gala Dinner organized by AGBU Sofia marked the closure of the European Games and it has been announced that Istanbul will host the 2014 games after the 2013 games in Geneva.

Until then, the team in the Northern Emirates will continue its activities bringing in the community youth together around sports activities, hoping one day the community hosts such games in the UAE.

We thank the Council of the Armenian Community in Dubai and the Northern Emirates for their financial contribution and support to the football teams.