ESFNA’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY UPDATES WASHINGTON D.C. 2008
There were compelling reasons why ESFNA wanted its 25th Silver Jubilee to be held in the D.C. Metro area and without question, all expectations were met. The geographic location of the venue sites which includes area soccer clubs also known as the DC-5 (D.C. Stars, D.C. Unity, Maryland, St. Michael and Virginia soccer clubs) holds the largest concentration of Ethiopians, outside Ethiopia.
Thousands were in attendance at the historic RFK stadium, from the opening day on and thousands more, attended on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Be it Ethiopians coming to find old lost friends or be it to seek a potential romantic suitor or watching non-stop soccer competition, or seeking a gift or an artifact at one of the vending booths or just plain hanging out, there were enough choices for everyone from morning to the late hours in the night.
At the end of a very full day, for many, the night offered several more hours to dine at one of the several (and crowded) Ethiopian restaurants, or to go to a concert or an after-hour party….and if that was not a preferred option, people watching or chatting away at one of the bars in the 5-Star Gaylord Hotel was always a sure excitement.
To me, opening the curtains in my room around late morning to take in the breath-taking brilliance of the Potomac or gazing down from my 14th floor room on the hundreds of Ethiopians lining up for coffee and breakfast was refreshing and a reminder of what the day ahead held.
Soccer Results
All 27 cities/clubs brought their best and competed strongly…and in the end it was Virginia and Denver from the 2nd Division and D.C. Unity and D.C. Stars from the 1st Division that were the last clubs standing.
Earlier in the day, the Virginia Lions beat Denver 3 – 0, with both teams advancing to the 1st division for next year.
D.C. Unity and D.C. Stars both sporting their team uniforms unmistakably resembling “Buna” and “St. George” Soccer clubs in Ethiopia competed valiantly on the pitch invoking plenty of “oooohs” and “aaaaahs” from spectators and fans. After 90 minutes of nail-biting competition, it was D.C. Unity that came out on top, 1 – 0.
Division I Winners D.C. Unity
Division II Winners Virginia Lions
More detailed soccer results will be posted later
The entire family of ESFNA, players, coaches, board members and Executive Committee members etc. , would like to say " Thank You" to Dr. Sheikh Mohammed Hussien Alamudi for his generous gift of $300,000 to our organization. It should be noted that this is not the first time Sheikh Alamudi has given a large amount of money to help and encourage ESFNA. In the year 2002, he donated $450,000 that helped our organization reach new heights. 
