Basketball legends the Harlem Globe Trotters helped break the barriers between youngsters of the divided island in Norway. Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot boys played for the Hasna Cup, the first time ever that the children competed together in an international competition. To top it off, as a dream come true for the boys, five players from the Globetrotters were flown to the area for a show, before making a surprise donation of 25,000 Norwegian Kroner about 3,300 Euro.
“It was our kids dream to play with the Globetrotters,” said Ashey Johnson from Peace Players Cyprus.
Little did they know that the entire show was to going to be dedicated to the youth of Peace Players Cyprus. If seeing and playing alongside the Harlem Globetrotters wasn’t surreal enough for the Peace Players team, the real surprise came at the end of the evening. As the Globetrotters show came to an end, they called the boys to the court, this time to present a cheque for 25.000 kroner. The Globetrotters formed in Chicago in 1926 and were the first team to play basketball in Europe. In 1950 Globetrotters Nathaniel Sweetwater Clifton became the first African-American player to sign an NBA contract.
The surprise donation was raised through ticket sales and a bake sale that was hosted during the game. What an unbelievable and unexpected gift from new found friends in Nesodden. “They will forever be a part of Peace Players Cyprus and we look forward to the day that we can welcome them to our home here on the island of Cyprus,” said miss Johnson.
The money will go towards Peace Players International’s (PPI) peace-building work in countries including Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Israel, the West Bank and South Africa.
