Nairobi Soccer Tournament Is Quite The Spirited Affair ... Hiccup

Before you get freaked out, or overly excited (depending on your views of public intoxication) you should know that engaging in sports while plastered is not an entirely new pursuit. It’s been the backbone of some recreational sports for generations. Fringe athletic pursuits such as hashing have been steeped in alcohol consumption ever since their creation.↵

↵↵That said, an organized soccer tournament based around non-stop boozing is a new one for me. But that’s what they’re doing in Nairobi, where the Wazee Pamoja group has invited men 35 years and older to take part in a soccer match where participants are constantly being served on the sidelines while players in action are also encouraged to race to the touchline to indulge in libations while they play.↵

↵↵⇥Players, most of them middle-aged men, kick the ball, then dash to the touchline to sip from their bottles.↵⇥↵⇥Substitutes on the bench and managers are served throughout the match by bar waitresses who deliver crates of both alcoholic and soft drinks to the venue.↵⇥

↵⇥↵⇥One player-manager played for a few minutes holding his beer bottle then rested for a while to finish his drink.↵⇥

↵↵↵As one might expect, the article goes on to describe how players frequently stumbled and fell over chasing the ball as the match progressed. And while the tournament doesn’t exactly have the blessing of any serious soccer organization, those behind it will babble on long enough about good intentions to convince you that all involved are debauched lushes looking for excuses to stumble in the grass. Why, it’s allowing middle-aged men to be active and run around. Just last year, the organizers, via membership fees, donated 25 bales of maize flour to starving people. ↵

↵↵Drunk soccer: a force for good in the world. ↵

↵↵*Image above not from the actual league described in this story.↵

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