19 African countries and Jamaica were represented by 24 teams at the 1st Annual Arican Community Soccer Tournament (ACST) in Los Angeles, California which wrapped up with  Sierra Leone’s ‘Leone Stars’ taking the ACST Cup Title  after defeating Cameroon’s ‘L.A. Lions’ team 2 to 1. The other African countries who participated include Ghana, Senegal, Zambia, Kenya, Cote D’Ivoire, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Morrocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Togo, Tanzania and Uganda.

The tournament’s organizer, Vuvuzela Media and Marketing, a niche marketing group that focuses on Los Angeles’ African and West Indian communities, believes that the ACST is paving the way for the recognition and contribution of Blacks in soccer in Los Angeles.

“The African Community Soccer Tournament is an event that puts a face on our community and puts on display our love and passion for soccer while bringing us all together to celebrate our common bonds—Africa, soccer, and the city of Los Angeles” says Charlotte Kouassi, company co-founder and Republic of Côte d’Ivoire native.

For all of the 2011 African Community Soccer Tournament highlights including scores, photos, and videos, you can visit www.africansoccerla.com

The 2011 CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards finalists (Credit: Hush at Jade Photo)

The top prize at this year’s CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2011 Awards Ceremony was scooped by Fatuma Noor, an investigative journalist from Kenya.

Noor, who works for Kenyan newspaper The Star, won the award for her three-part series on “Al-Shabaab,” an Islamic insurgent group in Somalia.

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