BOISE, Idaho — In a world full of conflict and disagreement, sports can have the power to unite.
Many in the Treasure Valley were united as they cheered on a Bronco win on The Blue Saturday night, while others united to cheer on their cultures and customs.
Members of Idaho's Afghan community hosted a soccer match to cheer on teams from Boise and Seattle that are made up of refugees.
Soccer can be many different things - a greeting, an invitation, a celebration. All it takes is 22 players, a pitch, and a ball - a universal symbol.
"It doesn't matter where you're from or where you live, [soccer] always brings people together." Toofan F.C.'s Saeed said.
The Afghan Cultural Center of Idaho hosted the soccer match between Boise's Toofan F.C. and United F.C. of Seattle. Both teams are comprised of mainly Afghan refugees, as well as refugees from Turkey and other countries.
"We're creating another home away from home," Toofan F.C. Captain Mohammad Shafi said.
Data from the Idaho Office for Refugees shows that since the Fall of Kabul in August 2021, Idaho has had 753 refugee arrivals from Afghanistan - 27% of total refugee arrivals. In the decade prior, Idaho saw 425 refugee arrivals from Afghanistan.
The match was all about sharing cultures, and bringing many of those from our communities together through a sport played across the world.
The match took place at the Boise High Athletic Complex Saturday night, and was the first soccer match the Afghan Cultural Center of Idaho has hosted.
"The idea behind the Afghan Cultural Center is to promote Afghan culture, preserve it - and also pass it on to the next generation," the center's program manager Nawid Mousa said.
Mousa says a goal of the center is to make sure that Afghans in Idaho are able to feel a sense of community, which is done through culture and customs - including soccer, the most popular sport in Afghanistan.
"Organizing such a sports game for the Afghan community and the wider community, it can bring the communities together," Mousa said.
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