The second Kent State Global Cup kicked off Saturday afternoon with participation of students from all over the world. Ten teams consisting of over 140 Kent State international and domestic students competed until a storm brought the game to a halt.

The participating teams were named Africa, Asia, “Camerica,” Europe, India, Iraq, “NASA,” Nepal, Oman and Saudi Arabia. “Camerica” represented a group of American and Cameroonian Podiatric Medicine students. “NASA” represented a group of students from countries all over the world. The students within the teams didn’t have to come from the place their team was named after.

Oman was the first Global Cup champion.

The Global Cup was held at the soccer fields on Summit Street and Loop Road, and started with the game referees Mike Moran and Brandon Schickler announcing the rules. The games lasted 16 minutes each, and the teams switched sides after eight minutes. Each team was given a different color T-shirt.

The first round of the Global Cup started at around 1:30 p.m. with a match between Iraq and “Camerica.”

Players had ranging soccer experience, and anyone from any background was accepted onto the teams.

Ali Saeedi, a second year translation grad student from Iraq, was a member of the Iraq team.

“I first started to play soccer two years ago,” Saeedi said. “I started when I first came to Kent.”

Bethany Regner, a second year TESL student, was also a member of the Iraq team despite being American. Regner was one of the three female players in the Global Cup, and she urged other women to participate.

“It’s normal being the only woman,” Regner said. “I wish other women would sign up though.”

After four more matches, “Camerica,” Saudi Arabia, “NASA,” Europe and Oman moved onto round two.

Due to the uneven number of teams that moved onto the second round, Europe, Oman and Saudi Arabia had to compete in a round of five penalty kicks to determine who would compete against “NASA” in another round of penalty kicks. Saudi Arabia lost, and competed against “NASA.” Saudi Arabia lost again, moving “NASA” onto the final four.

However, before the next round was to start, the intermittent rain turned into a storm. Remaining players and fans took shelter under a roofed picnic area, and pizzas were delivered. Players put aside field-based anger and enjoyed pizza with their peers.

Angela Schwarzer, an international student advisor for the Office of Global Education and head of the Global Cup, was confident in her decision to organize the soccer cup.

“Soccer is a universal sport,” Schwarzer said. “All countries around the world play soccer. This Global Cup is an opportunity for the international students to have fun and get to know even more people.”

Emlyn Forsung, a third year Podiatric Medicine grad student, agreed with Schwarzer’s views on soccer’s importance. Forsung is from Cameroon and played for “Camerica.”

“Soccer is a global sport,” Forsung said. “It unites people. That’s what it’s all about.”

Kashi Subedi, a second year physics grad student proved Schwarzer’s point that soccer was an international game. Subedi was from and played for Nepal.

“In Nepal, we call soccer the king of sports,” Subedi said. “It looks simple to play, but it really isn’t.”

The second Global Cup was a success despite the storm, according to Schwarzer. The first Global Cup was last spring and was an indoor soccer event at Kent State’s Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

“More people were interested this time,” Schwarzer said. “We had to move outdoors for more space.”

Due to the storm, the continuation of the Global Cup was postponed to next Saturday. A time has yet to be determined. The four remaining teams are “Camerica,” Europe, Oman and “NASA.”

Mckenna Corson is an international and grad affairs reporter, contact her at [email protected].