The Tibetan Women\u2019s Soccer team was denied entry into the United States as reported here in February<\/a>. As I wrote then:<\/p>\n Tibet Women\u2019s Soccer team, the \u201cSnow Lionesses,\u201d has been denied visas to come to the U.S. They were planning to join in an upcoming tournament. The team, based in India and coached by New Jersey native Cassie Childers was told that they \u201chave no good reason to visit the U.S.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In\u00a0March<\/a>, a pair of Republican congressmen from New Jersey (the home of team\u2019s coach, Cassie Childers) asked Sec. of State Rex Tillerson to reconsider the denial.<\/p>\n In the letter, the congressmen noted that the cup has in the past hosted \u201cIsraeli-Palestinian teams, Iraqi teams, and mixed South African and Protestant-Catholic Irish teams\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, the Tibet Women\u2019s Soccer team was scheduled to meet the mayor of Dallas, to lead<\/em> the opening day procession into the Cotton Bowl stadium, and receive\u00a0widespread media coverage. [read the full letter from both congressmen to Tillerson<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And the:<\/p>\n Dallas Cup officials issued a press release<\/a>, vowing to work with officials at all levels \u201cin assisting the Tibet Women\u2019s Soccer initiative through their visa application process however long it takes.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n But to no avail.<\/p>\n Visas for the team were never granted. But now, the team will make its North American debut in Vancouver, Canada.\u00a0Adri Hamael, founder of the Vancouver International Soccer Festival,\u00a0heard about the denial and stepped up<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cI was really angered by the story, \u201d he told the CBC. \u201cI mean how threatening are 14\u00a0Tibetan women to the United States? Then immediately my anger turned into a thought \u2014\u00a0I have to get this team to Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n On June 29,\u00a0Hamael\u2019s vision will become\u00a0reality when the women arrive in Vancouver, ready to represent as the first female Tibetan team to play\u00a0internationally in any sport.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Coach Cassie Childers told the CBC that the team \u201cfreaked out\u201d when they heard the news. Life for them, like other Tibetans in exile, is very difficult. Contact with families still in Tibet is difficult, sometimes impossible. And support for the women\u2019s soccer team hasn\u2019t been strong within their exile community.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0still extremely conservative and extremely sexist. Men in their own community are still actively trying to get them to stop playing,\u201d Childers told the CBC.<\/p>\n See their announcement about receiving Canadian Visas and thanking supporters:
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