Some participants in Gothia Cup travel all across the world to play football in Gothenburg, Sweden. One of those teams is Mwenge SC from Kenya. The culture differences are obvious but that´s what Gothia Cup is all about. Ricky Solomon is the leader of Mwnege SC. He was here in Gothia Cup 2007 and is looking forward to Gothia Cup 2009.

Kenya is located on the north eastern coast of Africa. When Ricky talks about Kenya you can feel the pride he feels for his country.
- Kenya is a beautiful country he says, with beautiful beaches and an amazing wildlife.

Kenya has become one of the most popular tourism destinations for Swedes but during one week in July it’s the other way around and Mwenge SC travels to cold Scandinavia and Sweden to play football.
- The weather was cold but okay, in Kenya we are on the equator so the weather is more favourable. Sweden has a good infrastructure and better playing grounds than in Kenya says Ricky. The boys have been to Denmark but they love Sweden more. We gave them an option to go to America but they insist on coming to Sweden.

Teams like Mwenge SC are working hard to be able to participate and vaise funds for the long trip.
- It has been very hard to finance for our team to Sweden but parents have been very committed and have sacrificed a lot to pay for their children’s air tickets. Mwenge Sports Centre has been knocking doors on companies and other well wishers to provide a gift in any kind, either air tickets or uniforms.

Culture differences are to be expected when people from countries all over the world meet in one place.
What did the boys think about the Scandinavian people?
- The boys think that the girls in Sweden are pretty and very talented but they need to be friendlier so that the boys can approach them easily. They said unlike Kenya a boy needs to work extra hard to get a girl from Sweden. Also Swedish people need to talk more English so that there is no language barrier; other than that the trip to Sweden was so great. The boys have pictures of your tournament everywhere in their rooms.
What did the boys think about the Swedish food at the tournament?
- The food was not bad.
He explains though that the boys spend some time in McDonalds.
What do you eat in Kenya?
- In Kenya we eat a lot of proteins that is potatoes, rice, very many sorts of vegetables, chicken because it is said in Kenya there is more chickens than human beings so we need to scale down the population of chicken.
What is the best thing about Gothia Cup?
- The best thing about Gothia is that it is recognised all over the world and two of our boys in America might get scholarship because they played in Gothia Cup. Gothia hosts the tournament like the Olympics, or even better then an International World Cup like the one to be held in South Africa soon. We also really loved the Opening Ceremony! Says Ricky.

Gothia Cup wants to welcome Mwenge SC back to Sweden in Gothia Cup 2009!