The first ever game of college American Football to be played on African soil will kick off on Saturday, May 21, when the city of Arusha in Tanzania hosts the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl. The historic game will match the Drake University Bulldogs against an all-star college team from Mexico, the CONADEIP all-stars.
In addition to competing on the football field, members of both teams will undertake a series of projects to benefit the local community while enjoying a cultural experience. Players and coaches will climb the imposing 19,340-foot Mount Kilimanjaro - the Rooftop of Africa! The two teams will ascend Kilimanjaro by different routes, culminating their climbs by meeting at the summit and hoisting their respective university and national flags in a moment sure to be captured by media worldwide and celebrated by everyone connected with these teams and their universities.
“This is a truly groundbreaking and unique overseas visit that will spread the appeal of American football onto the African continent,” said Patrick Steenberge, President of Texas-based Global Football, which has organized the event. “This will be much more than a football game. It is also a demonstration of how student athletes from Mexico and the USA can work together to set a goal, travel to a far-away land, compete as athletes, serve others they otherwise would never know, and challenge themselves to reach the summit of Arica’s tallest mountain.”
The trip will begin on May 17, 2011, and following two practices and football clinics for 1,600 local youth, the two teams will meet on the football field on Saturday, May 21. The remainder of the visit will be dedicated to youth orphanage service projects, a safari in a nation where more than a quarter of the land is reserved for wildlife and natural resources, and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro before returning May 31.
The traveling football roster for Drake University, an NCAA Division I-FCS school located in Des Moines, Iowa, will consist of approximately 66 players, eligible for the 2010 season.
“I am overwhelmed with excitement as this long time vision is now becoming a reality,” said Drake head coach Chris Creighton. “This trip will surely be one of the most incredible experiences of our lives. The three major components of the trip are each monumental. We cannot wait to make this happen.”
Drake’s Mexican opposition of 46 players will be selected from the CONADEIP football conference that completed its inaugural football season in the fall of 2010, having restructured to provide a highly competitive schedule for the long-dominant private universities in Mexico.
Drake University Athletic Director Sandy Hatfield Clubb said: “Participation in the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl and the accompanying activities in Tanzania are a perfect coming together of Drake University’s mission and values. We strive to provide opportunities that will facilitate leadership learning and prepare student-athletes to be responsible global citizens and to become champions of positive change.”
The orphanage service project will be coordinated through the efforts of the Iowa Resources for International Service (IRIS) and STEMM, as the student athletes from both teams, numbering 110 in total, will spend three days working at local private orphanage to improve their facilities facilities.
Global Kilimanjaro Bowl Schedule:
Tuesday, May 17 - Teams depart USA and Mexico
Wednesday, May 18 - Arrive Kilimanjaro Airport, transfer to Arusha
May 19-20 - Practices, Youth Clinics, Local sightseeing
Saturday, May 21 - Global Kilimanjaro Bowl, Drake Bulldogs vs. CONADEIP Mexico
May 22-24 - Youth orphanage service projects, Safari
May 25-30 - Climb Mount Kilimanjaro
Tuesday, May 31 - Flight home
