There is soccer (football) in Bangladesh

I will start with a story about South Africa and apartheid. Robben Island was an isolated island where South Africa's white regime imprisoned many for opposing the brutal system of segregation that denied basic rights to the country's black majority from 1948 to 1991.
South Africa sent its political prisoners to the isle off Cape Town to serve hard time. The prisoners' job was to break rocks. Their captors' job was to break spirits. But the prisoners kept their spirits, and soccer was part of that. For years, prisoners demanded a right to play sports, including soccer. And for years, prison authorities said no, but eventually they caved in under pressure from the International Red Cross. The league was operated in three divisions — A, B and C, based on players' abilities — complete with trainers, managers, referees and coaches. The league had several standing committees to deal with a range of issues, including discipline and maintenance.
Running is freedom in physical form. The prisoners could forget about prison when they were playing a game, as physical exercise to keep their minds and bodies sharp — and as a way for those from differing political factions to work and play together. It was a unifying factor. Up until football, every activity on the island was self-segregated not by race but by political party. Then, for the first time, as football was established, the parties began to train together and play together in prison.

Now, there is very little resemblance between myself and a political prisoner in apartheid South Africa. I am here on my own will and I am loving it. There is nobody trying to keep me in Dhaka by force. Still, there are plenty of similarities. As I compete for the ball, as I run out of breath on many occasions and as I stand the risk of getting my knees busted again, it is the love of the game that keeps me going. Soccer is a huge part of me and being able to take this with me in Bangladesh brings such a joy to my heart. And not last, forming a "franchise" of my former Ursus team and bringing it to Asia, still gives me the chills :)

Saying good bye

We always thought that it would be very hard to say goodbye ... and it was hard. Yet we considered ourselves fortunate to have met so many special people ... that it made saying goodbye so hard!



We will miss everybody dearly and we will remember them fondly. Although we may be separated by time and distance in the interim, nothing will diminish the important role that our Michigan friends and family  have and always will play in our lives. We wish all of them the best and hoped to keep in touch, and who knows, maybe they would visit us in Africa, South America or Asia, or wherever we might be.

The party we threw was the best we ever had. And my brother surprised us by coming announced from Alabama on a very short notice.

My Ursus soccer teammates!