Rules of engagement

LOWELL -- It all came down to this:

After three hard-played games each, Honduras and Brazil met in the semifinals of the One Lowell World Cup but couldn't break their tie, so they had to go to penalty kicks. This was only a friendly, weekend soccer tournament, meant to foster better interaction among the area's many immigrant groups. Still, the hundreds of spectators on hand watched nervously before each kick as players crossed themselves and muttered a prayer or two.

With each Honduras goal, fans dressed in blue waved the country's flag and shouted in Spanish. After every score by the Brazil team, Brazilian fans -- many from Lowell and Framingham -- danced and exulted in Portuguese. Eventually, Brazil won on penalty kicks, earning the right to play Guatemala in the finals.

The Brazilian fans hugged each other. The Honduran faithful put their heads in their hands.

The drama played out on the fields of Cawley Stadium in Lowell last weekend was intense, rough, exciting, and, for the vanquished, heartbreaking. But no matter. Tournament organizers say they had a larger and more important goal: to bring together the area's various immigrant groups who rarely socialize with each other, much less play together in the "beautiful game."

With the arrival of English star David Beckham to the Los Angeles Galaxy and the growing popularity of soccer on American soil -- the World Soccer Daily podcast is one of the most popular sports podcasts on iTunes, getting more than 40,000 downloads daily -- the organizers hoped to jump on the momentum and pull in disparate groups via a sport most of them love.

And judging from the teams that were assembled and the many supporters who showed up sporting national colors and ethnic attires, the maiden tourney was a promising success.

"All of these immigrants are coming together, some for the very first time," said Victoria Fahlberg, executive director of One Lowell, a nonprofit group that helps immigrants settle in the Lowell area. "They are competing for something beyond a team win. They're representing a country. Like the real World Cup."

The rules for forming a One Lowell World Cup 2007 team were simple: At least half of the team members must be "from" that country, and teams could define "from" as either being born in that country or region, or a child of parents from that nation, said Fahlberg. That gave teams flexibility to use better players from elsewhere to form more competitive forces, but also forced them to keep a national identity, she said.

Why soccer?

"Soccer is just one of these sports that everybody just does," said tournament organizer Tom Fahlberg, Victoria's husband. "It brings people together who wouldn't normally talk" to one another.

Initially, only two teams showed interest in the tournament, and the organizers braced for a bust. But then word started spreading through immigrant communities. Fliers about the event made it beyond Lowell, to Chelsea, Framingham, and even Worcester.

Eventually, the contest pitted 16 teams representing 14 countries against each other, with players from all over the state. Kenyan players from Brockton and Malden formed a team. Mexican players from Haverhill and Fitchburg called each other and signed up. Brazilian players in Lowell contacted friends and compatriots in Framingham. Organizers had to turn away teams that formed late.

Beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday, the tournament opened with Mexico playing against China on one field and one of the two Cambodian teams versus a team representing West Africa on another. The Mexico side came with a handful of supporters, including young cheerleaders in homemade green T-shirts.

After Mexico's 6-0 victory, Ramon Sierra, 25, of Haverhill came off the pitch breathing hard, but with relief. "We didn't know what to expect," he said. "We've never played a Chinese team before."

West Africa squeaked past its Cambodian opponents, 2-1. After the game, the West African players shook hands with the Cambodian players and said they had a newfound respect for the Cambodians' game.

"There's a misconception that some countries don't play soccer well," said Anthony Ngethe, 30, a Lawrence resident and a member of the Kenyan team. "And then you get on the field and they surprise you."

Clinton Braganza, 32, of Lowell said he and a group of friends decided to put together an Indian team to "have fun." But they didn't have enough players initially, so they began recruiting on craigslist.org, opening the team to players of other national origins.

Emmanuel Nouga, 30, a native of Cameroon, said he joined the India team after seeing the craigslist posting. The Watertown resident said he just wanted to have fun with a group of soccer players, even if it meant they would have a tough time against teams with players who had played together longer.

"I hope we play together more after this," he said.

Other teams came together with a plan to win. Guillermo Cisneros, 19, a Lawrence resident and a member of the eventual champion, Guatemala, said his team's strength came from several core players who had played together for about five years on another team.

One of the Cambodian teams joked about its secret weapon: Brazilians. Half of the team were Cambodians from Lowell, but the others were Brazilian players from surrounding towns.

Victoria Fahlberg said such practices surprised the organizers, who really did not understand how competitive soccer is with some groups. She said the tournament went well overall, despite the fact that many of the groups were meeting for the first time.

"It's hard to bring these groups together," she said. "It's not just about language. It's about culture. It's about pride."

Fahlberg said that because many immigrants keep to themselves, it's hard for them to assert a political voice, even in culturally diverse cities like Lowell. Lowell recently lost its first elected Latino city councilor when he resigned to take a state job. The School Committee also has no elected people of color, she noted.

That reality stands in sharp contrast to the city's demographic makeup. According to the US Census, Asians are the city's largest minority group, representing 21 percent of the population. Latinos are the second-largest minority group at 16 percent, while African-Americans make up around 5 percent of Lowell's population of 103,000.

Fahlberg said she hopes that through events like the One Lowell soccer tournament, immigrant groups in the area will learn to work together and move that spirit of engagement and cooperation on the playing field into the political arena.

In the final of last weekend's competition, which the organizers hope to make an annual event, Guatemala beat a tired Brazil team, 3-0.

Accepting the One Lowell Cup on behalf of his team, Josue Cisneros, 23, thanked his teammates, who included his brother Guillermo, and praised the event as a worthwhile pursuit.

"It was a great time. Everybody came together for the love of soccer," he said. "Everybody went home happy. Hopefully, next year we can do the same thing, and even do it better."

Russell Contreras can be reached at rcontreras@globe.com.