FP 7 was a huge success... the new venue allowing us more space and better facilities. Featuring 16 teams inc PBSFM, RRR, City of Yarra and whoever gets in... (could be you?!), we will be running a Melbourne Heart Junior Comp for the Under 12s, there will be DJs all day on the PBSFM stage, and there will be a 2nd stage featuring local community acts and a couple of headliners too.... foosball comp, bouncy castle, bar, food and r...affle... plenty to keep you entertained, and helping us raise funds for great causes!!!
HFCA (Happy Football Cambodia Australia) was formed in late 2005.HFCA's main purpose is to work with disadvantaged youth in Cambodia through the medium of the Beautiful game AKA Football. We fund a football program in Phnom Penh which is the capital city of Cambodia.
Our partner organisations Riverkids, CCH and the Happy School work with children who have been orphaned or rescued from brothels or other forms of slavery. We fund a football program that offers these young people an opportunity to learn the skills required to play the game and learn how to be part of a team. We provide them with football boots and other gear as well ensuring they get the best possible coaching from professional coaches from the Cambodian Football Federation. We pay all costs associated with the program which allows our partners to provide a free service to the young people who are part of their programs. In Cambodia the number of girls who attend school as well as sporting programs is far less than the number of boys who take part. HFCA are committed to working with girls as well as boys and do everything possible to encourage girls to take part in our program.
Every year we aim to take a team to the Homeless World Cup so they can dream of representing Cambodia on on an international stage and have a life changing experience. In 2008, HFCA succeeded in this dream by funding a Cambodian team to come to Melbourne for the HWC08. This year they took a team to Milan for HWC09. According to Riverkids, taking part in the Homeless World Cup was fantastic for the players "After attending the Homeless World Cup and arriving home, we noticed a change in these children. They were so happy, proud and much more confident. They become the leaders of kids at their community and would take it upon themselves to organize football matches with their friends at the slum. They had such a positive attitude and that influenced other children as well. They had pride in themselves, in their country - and that is something that we very much want to encourage at Riverkids. The community also noticed a difference - and everyone was very happy when they heard about the news. It proved to families that sending their children to Riverkids, getting them educated and interested in activities such as football was a positive step - and it could result in their child one day being selected to go on such an adventure. So they started to send their children to Riverkids more regularly - which is such a benefit to these children."
The Fair Play tournament is held twice a year with 80% of all proceeds going to HFCA. 16 teams from the local community compete for the Etiko trophy and a host of other prizes. It has been held five times and featured teams from RRR radio station, City of Yarra, Vic Police, Fitzroy Estate, The Big Issue, the Street Socceroos and the Cambodian National Homeless Team whilst they were here in Melbourne for the Homeless World Cup in October 2008. This was a very emotional occasion for us as it was clear to everyone how overcome they were to see what we do to raise the money needed to support the program and them.
The day itself also includes food, coffee, a bar, DJs all day, kids activities and we hope to keep adding other elements. We have been given the go ahead by the City of Yarra council to move the event to the historic Victoria Park ground, the old home of Collingwood Football Club in 2010. This is fantastic news and gives us the opportunity to expand the competition to 24 teams. It also works well as we give the other 20% of the proceeds to the Collingwood Allstars, a soccer program for disadvantaged kids in the Collingwood estate.
Fair Play hopes that through football we can give these young people a reason to smile and forget about the issues they face even if its only for a few hours when they are training or playing a game. If they work hard enough they too can dream of one day getting on a plane for the first time to fly to a Homeless World Cup to represent their country.