Ghana, Nigeria, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago to compete in the football tournament in London

Ghana, Nigeria, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago will compete in a men’s football tournament in London by the end of the year.

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) confirmed on Wednesday that the four nations will play at the Unity Cup at the end of May, after the conclusion of the European home season.

The two Caribbean teams will compete in the first semifinal of Tuesday 27 May with the two teams of West Africa who play the next day. The respective losers will then play a bronze medal match on Saturday 31 May with the winners who face each other in the final later that day.

All four nations have large diasporas in the United Kingdom. The office for national statistics (ONS) declared in the 2021 census that 271,000 people in the United Kingdom identified themselves as Nigerian, with 113,000 who identify themselves as Ghana. In 2007, the high commission of Jamaica declared that there were 800,000 people in the United Kingdom who were born in Jamaica or of Jamaican origin. The 2013 census of ONS said there were 25,000 Trinidadians who lived in the United Kingdom.

“The Unity Cup is a tournament that really evokes the phrase often used” an event that goes beyond sport “”, said Andy Howes, co-director of the Afrosport competition organizer.

“But with the series of elite stars and the profile of the teams involved, this event is not only important in terms of cultural meaning, but also reflects the growing commercial importance of African football and the Caribbean, as well as the growing demography of black football fans within English football.”

The tournament begins only a few days after the weekend in which the Premier League seasons, La Liga, Ligue 1 and series AA, are concluded, while the Bundesliga campaign ends 10 days before the first semifinal.

The UNITY CUP previously took place in 2004, with Nigeria, Jamaica and the Republic of Ireland that took part in a Round-Robin tournament. Nigeria was the champions after winning both their games.

All the matches of the 2004 tournament took place in The Valley of Charlton Athletic. GFA’s release did not specify where the games will be played this year, only they will be in London.

Nigeria is the most classified team of the quartet, placing 44 in the last FIFA world rankings. Jamaica is next to 62 years of age, with Ghana at 77 and Trinidad and Tobago at 102

(Pio Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images)