For fans around the world, soccer is more than a game. A celebration of unity symbolized by the game, in particular the FIFA World Cup, will highlight the fourth annual Worcester African Festival, set for Aug. 1 at Worcester City Hall and City Common.
The festival is expected to draw 3,000 to 5,000 participants, according to Jermoh Kamara, president and chief empowerment officer of the Massachusetts Organization of African Descendants, commonly called MOAD, which organizes the festival.
The World Cup games: ‘A huge milestone’
Although Spain’s victory over Argentina on July 19 marked the end of the World Cup games, for festival organizers, there’s still a lot to celebrate.
“It’s a celebration of the World Cup. We’re asking fans, people who are going to the festival, to wear jerseys, just celebrating the countries that qualified and played great in the World Cup,” Kamara said. Organizers hope to see jerseys of the teams of the 10 African nations that qualified, as well as that of Haiti, and Brazil.
African nations with teams competing for the World Cup included Morocco, South Africa, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cape Verde, Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Algeria…