In the summer of 1974, Panthers soccer team was formed by a group inspired from the Black Panthers Party. The Black Panther Party (originally called the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a revolutionary, Black nationalist organization in the United States founded by Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, and Richard Aoki. Forming in October 1966, the group was founded on the principles of its Ten-Point Program, which called for greater autonomy of black
Americans and correction of the injustices of racism. The Black Panther Party fell apart in the early 1970s under the weight of both internal feuding and the external pressures of federal, state, and local law enforcement's campaign to undermine the organization with black propaganda, infiltration by agents provocateur and outright assassination. The soccer team Panthers continues the struggle on and off the field today. |
Third World Cup
Third World Cup is the official and renegade Rice and Beans soccer league. Unlike other organizations that act more like a world government fueled by corporate sponsors, Third World Cup are the games of the people! These are the oppressed and impoverished, the fathers, mothers and children of the global resistance.
Fuck FIFA:
Acting less like a sports organization and more like a federal government, FIFA at the center, is controlled by a handful of white Europeans at the "FIFA house" in Zurich, Switzerland. With 207
associations affiliated to FIFA today, it has more members than the United Nations. In May 21, 1904, an elite group of 7 European men had a meeting in Paris to conspire to unify the world's soccer leagues under 1 authority. Their main event, the World Cup, was started by feeding off the talent of South America, the first World Cup being a match between Uruguay and Argentina played in Montevideo. And then later they fed off the legacy of Brazil. Yet this organization
remains European and never contributes to the different third world countries' economic development and struggle but yet they promote enough interest in the sport for their own benefit. It just continues to feed off the Third World's talents and and make millions of dollars in the process. A lot of the money comes from sponsors like Coca-Cola, who are being charged with the murders of union workers in Colombia, to Nike, Adidas, and Puma who make millions of dollars in profits by using sweatshops in Third World countries.
The Third World Cup was born on March 16, 1973. A group of 3 immigrant men and women from Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica had a meeting in Queens, NYC to create a soccer tournament that could be an outlet for social and politically active groups from the third world and inside the U.S. to make their cause more vocal. The tournament has 10 teams and the teams don't represent countries, rather they represent struggles, movements and regions of forgotten peoples. Teams include: Amazonas, Lions, Browns, Lords, Natives, Altiplanos, Zapatas, Panthers, Sandinos, and Condors formerly known as Chibchas. In 1996, Third World Cup joined and became part of Rice and Beans. Now in 2006, the annual Third World Cup celebrates 10 years of not using the game for entertainment or to make money off of sponsors, but rather celebrates 10 years of playing the game for the love and for a cause.
The semi-finals/finals:
Third World Cup matches are played 4 on 4, much in the style of street soccer. The matches are 30 minutes total, with each half being 15 minutes. The tournament has been held in various cities such as Santiago, Bogota, San Jose (Costa Rica), and NYC but this year the location will be Miami, home of Rice and Beans. The location however has been kept a secret. The semi-finals have already started with the dramatic victory of the Altiplanos from the Central Andes over the Panthers team from here in North America. The score was 1 - 0 in favor of the Altiplanos team. The goal was scored when big haired Francisco de Pablo slammed a header into the net of goalkeeper, Elbert "Big Man" Howard, in the 29th minute of the game. The next semi-finalist match will be played between the northern Andes team, Condors, versus the Rastafarian brigade, Lions, from the hillsides of Jamaica. The match is scheduled for April 25, 2006. The finals will be held May 1 (May Day) in an undisclosed location in Miami! So stay tuned!
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