Haitians use soccer in Minn. to move on from quake

Posted: 07.21.2010 at 3:19 PM

In a photo made July 14, 2010, a Haitian player, right, and an Edina, Minn., player battle for the ball during the USA Cup soccer tournament in Blaine, Minn. The team of 14 and 15-year-old players was brought to Minnesota from Haiti with money raised by a foundation and the L.A. Galaxy soccer club to play in the largest youth tournament in the country. / AP Photo

BLAINE, Minn. (AP) — A group of 14-year-old boys from Haiti is using a soccer trip to Minnesota to help them forget just a bit about the devastating earthquake back home.

The Los Angeles Galaxy teamed up with the Tony Sanneh foundation to help bring 15 boys from the poorest parts of Port-au-Prince to suburban Minneapolis this month. They took part in the largest youth soccer tournament in the country.

The Haitians were the toast of the tournament. They were honored during opening ceremonies last week and went on to win the gold flight playoffs on Saturday. That's the second tier of a tournament that includes more than 900 teams from 16 different countries.

The kids say they have been trying to get back to normal after the magnitude-7 earthquake in January.