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Appalachian’s People of the Planet Soccer Tournament April 15

No matter where you go or what country you are in, you can always find one thing in common. It isn’t faith, language, food, or anything else like that. It simply involves a ball, a field (dirt or grassy), a net (or anything else you can use to determine a goal) and a group of people. In most countries, this game is called football, but here in the United States, we call it soccer. According to Wikipedia.com, “it is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world.” No matter what you call it or where you play it, one thing is for sure: it brings numerous people together.

Dr. Rahman Tashakkori, a faculty member of the Computer Science department at Appalachian, has always had a passion for soccer. According to Tashakkori, “Everyone can play, no matter how old you are, the color of your skin, color of your eyes, color of hair, height, ethnic background, or language.”

For a few years now, Tashakkori has had a dream of bringing people from all over to world to play soccer together in a big soccer tournament. This year, his wish is coming true. His dream will be a part of the Annual Diversity Celebration on Appalachian State University’s campus this year.

Appalachian’s People of the Planet Soccer tournament will take place on Sunday, April 15, from 8:45 a.m. until about 5:15 p.m. in Kidd Brewer Stadium. Individuals representing many different countries from all over the world have been invited to participate in this event on one of four teams: Earth, Fire, Water and Space. Two of the teams will be of faculty, staff, students, coaches and alumni. The other two teams will be comprised of people from all over the world.

At the beginning of each game, children will have the opportunity to carry a flag representing a different country onto the field, while being escorted by one of the soccer players. All players are considered winners in this contest.

This tournament is made possible by the following sponsors: Blue Horse Promotion Inc., Booneweather.com, Krause Construction Company Inc., MPrints Inc., the Office of International Education and Development at Appalachian State University, the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Compliance at Appalachian State University, Appalachian State University Bookstore, and the Office of the Registrar at Appalachian State University.

For more info about the tournament, click to www.cs.appstate.edu/soccer/. For more info about the Diversity Celebration, click to www.celebration.appstate.edu/.

Want To Go?

Date: Sunday, April 15
Time: 8:45 a.m. until about 5:15 p.m.
Location: Kidd Brewer Stadium, ASU
Cost: Free