Contributor: Jeff Whitbeck

“During sports competitions all wars and conflicts are forgotten and forgiven.”

Nothing could have better captured the intent of the soccer tournament’s organizers than this quote, offered by a young mother in the southern Tajikistan community of Shartuz after watching her son compete in the Shartuz Soccer Tournament. Conducted with assistance from USAID’s Community Action Investment Program (CAIP), implemented by Mercy Corps, the Shartuz Soccer Tournament is just one example of how the program is alleviating social tensions, removing barriers to communication and empowering community members to take a proactive role in shaping the future for generations to come.

The community of Shartuz in southern Tajikistan is one of the most ethnically diverse communities in all of Tajikistan with residents from neighboring Afghanistan, a majority Uzbek population and a sizeable population of Tajiks. A town of over 8,000 people, Shartuz lies just 50 kilometers from the border with Afghanistan and 60 kilometers from the border with Uzbekistan.

When Mercy Corps’ CAIP first began work in Shartuz in August, 2002, the unemployment rate was reported to be as high as 80 percent, ethnic tension was rising, and there was unequal access to social services and a lack of basic infrastructure. In other words, it was a community that exhibited significant potential for conflict and, therefore, fit all the necessary criteria for CAIP.

Despite the issues confronting the community of Shartuz, a strong Community Action Group (CAG) was established with the help of Mercy Corps, and several projects were identified and prioritized. Those projects include a garbage collection project, a project to rehabilitate and install transformers and three social projects with an emphasis on youth development. Among those social projects, one in particular exhibited the spirit of community-based planning and captured the essence of what USAID, and its implementing partner Mercy Corps, intended a year ago when the CAIP project was first introduced.

Having identified the lack of extracurricular opportunities for youth in the community as a possible reason for increased drug use and crime among youth, the CAG set about developing a sports tournament which would not only provide an opportunity for youth and adults to socialize, but would also encourage a healthy form of recreation for youth in the community. Events like the Shartuz Soccer Tournament are precisely the kind of events which are absolutely essential for healthy communities, but which have been lacking since the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Due to the success of previous community projects implemented through CAIP, the Shartuz community knew what they were capable of and rallied around the idea of designing a soccer tournament to unite the community. Over the course of five days, six soccer teams comprised of 70 children from the community of Shartuz, were given the opportunity to display their footwork in front of friends and family during the town’s soccer tournament organized by the community’s CAG and sponsored by the Mercy Corps CAIP Program through funds from USAID. All team members where presented with Nike uniforms and shoes, donations which had been acquired by Mercy Corps, and the teams were also presented with soccer balls.

According to Foruk Muhamadiev, a captain for one of the soccer teams: “The soccer competition was great! I especially liked that after the competition was completed we were able to keep the uniforms we were given. We were also given footballs allowing us to play whenever we want- in the past we had made balls out of rags, so these balls are much better.”

Parents pointed out that these kinds of events are necessary in order to help their communities recover from the devastating Civil War, which ended just a few years ago. This competition provided the opportunity for children and adults, from a variety of backgrounds, to develop relationships and form friendships through sports.

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