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Galway City Tribune, 20th June 2008
SWITZERLAND and Austria might be currently hosting the l6-team Euro 2008 championships, but Galway will play host to a World Cup soccer tournament next weekend, featuring 32 teams representing different nations from around the world.
The Galway World Cup Fun Weekend will be played in Drom on Friday next, June 27, and Saturday June 28 as a fundraiser for GOAL's school building programme in Kenya.
Staff of the Health Service Executive, Neighbourhood Youth Projects, Gardai Justice Programmes and Foroige are organising the event, now in its tenth year, with youth projects form all around the country travelling to Galway for the event.
The Galway World Cup Fun Weekend 2008 offers an opportunity for young people to come together for a National Fun Weekend Tournament promoting self esteem, teamwork, friendship, social, personal and educational skills, sportsmanship and the opportunity to integrate with other young people from around the country while also focusing on inter-cultural awareness from around the world.
A total of 32 youth project teams representing different nations from around the world will descend on the city for the event, which will run along similar lines as the FIFA World Cup, while there will also be a fun element to the weekend with various off-pitch fun activities taking place.
In an effort to educate people in cultural awareness each project will represent different countries in a fun way and one of the major prizes will go towards 'the most creative kit'. The various teams have been researching, working and designing sporting kits, national emblems, costumes and flags for the past number of months. In the past the opening ceremony gave us breathtaking displays of colour and insight into the culture of various nations from around the world.
"The creative kit is one of the highlights of the weekend and generates the most fun and laughter," explained Orla Curran of the Health Service Executive and a member of the organising committee.
"It is great after months of preparation by the young people to see their efforts bearing fruit in the opening ceremony and witness the knowledge they have gained about other cultures from around the world.
"This is such a great example of collaboration among the relevant statutory, community and voluntary organisations to organise an initiative whereby young people can enjoy them selves in a safe setting and also give something back to those less fortunate than themselves," she said.
Another aspect of the weekend is that all the young people aged between 14 and 16 years have also been busy fundraising for GOAL to build a school in Kenya which the Galway World Cup is twinned with in raising funds for the GOAL Street Children's Project.
This fundraising event has given the young people an opportunity to show their solidarity with young people living in much more difficult circumstances. Over the last four years the young people have raised in excess of EUR28,000 for the GOAL Street Children's Project who are protecting and saving 1000's of children's lives in the slum areas of Nairobi, Kenya.
Organisers say the project could not take place without the continued support of the Health Service Executive, Foroige, Galway City VEC, Bank of Ireland. Galway Gardai, the Football Association of Ireland ((FAI) and Galway City Partnership who have helped fund the programme for the last seven years.
All are welcome to attend the tournament over the two days. For more information logon to www.galwayworldcup.com.
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