New Zealand Homeless World Cup Team on the Road to Rio
Street Football Aotearoa is delighted to announce that a team will represent Aotearoa/New Zealand at the Homeless World Cup in Rio de Janeiro in September.
It is not known how many people are homeless in Aotearoa/New Zealand, but Street Football Aotearoa does know that its football projects help many homeless and marginalised people to participate more fully in society.
SFA provides weekly football training in partnership with local social service agencies in New Zealand’s four biggest cities. Our local partners are: The Lifewise Trust and The Salvation Army in Auckland; Downtown Community Ministry in Wellington; Christchurch City Mission in Christchurch; and PACT and the Dunedin Night Shelter Trust in Dunedin.
Thanks to the support of these agencies, as well as Sportzone, Wellington City Council, New Zealand Football, the Cuesports Foundation and a large number of generous individuals eight homeless people will now have a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their Country and change their lives forever. The team will be coached by Steve Fletcher from Auckland who volunteers his time and support.
Chair of Street Football Aotearoa Katie Owen says “We’d like to say a huge thank you to all those people who have helped us out, it’s fantastic that these players who have trained so hard for the past 18 months now have the opportunity to fulfil their dreams”.
New Zealand Football chief executive Michael Glading said their donation was in line with FIFA’s aims of helping out those who are disadvantaged through the sport. “Football … touches so many people on this planet. It’s great to help out.”
The squad to travel to Rio are: Tim Aitken (Dunedin) Fraser Hoffe (Wellington) Kingi Hotu (Auckland) Kaha Keepa (Wellington) Patrick Shannahan (Christchurch) Terereao Thompson (Christchurch) Kevin Wagstaff (Wellington) Fabian Waenga (Wellington)
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Posted on: Sunday, August 1st, 2010 at 8:58 am
Posted in: Press Releases
Tags: 2010, football, homeless world cup, katie owen, michael glading, steven fletcher, street football aotearoa, team
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