Half Tibetan Kiwi teen initially selected to the team for the Youth World Cup soccer tournament being held in China has been dropped after Chinese pressure. The teen born in New Zealand was advised to be dropped from the team by the Chinese consulate and eventually the team management dropped him from the prestigious tournament.
Nyima Tsering-Young is a 14 year old teen born to a mixed couple, Megan Tsering-Young, a New Zealand national and her Tibetan husband. The two met in India and moved to New Zealand 20 years ago. However, the two had faced problems obtaining visas to Tibet to meet their family members and now their son has also been dropped from the important soccer tournament due to his father’s Tibetan origin.
“Talented Northland teen Nyima Tsering-Young was picked to play in the upcoming tournament – widely referred to as the “Youth World Cup” – by a private football academy. However, the player was asked to withdraw because of the high possibility of getting his visa denied.” said the report in the local newspaper Nzherald.
“Nyima’s mum, Megan Tsering-Young believes that the academy had no choice given the time pressures but said she believed her son had been discriminated against by the Chinese Consulate issuing the visa because of his ethnicity.” it added.
While the consulate demanded a written declaration from the minor that he would only play football and not engage in any other activities, his team management withdrew Nyima from the team without any comment. Although it is not imaginable on how such a teenager could pose any threat to China, he was willing to write the declaration so that he could take part in the tournament.
The Gothia Cup is an eight-day tournament to be held from August 12 in Chengyang district in Qingdao, China. Since it started in 1975 more than a million players from 143 countries have participated in the tournament. In 2007, FIFA named it the “World Youth Cup”.
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