Offside Set

GweedsOSS · Mon Apr 23, 2007 2:28 pm Targetting 'new' groups for the Victory

I put this in 'The Pub' section because it is more of a general interest, although it is related to Melbourne Victory and its supporters.

Some of you may have read this article in 'The Age' last Saturday:

Quote: REMZI Dermele scoops the ball up with his right foot and lets it spin back on to his instep.

"This is how I could make my dreams come true," the 15-year-old says.

He wears a bright red Manchester United jersey. The club's emblem is on a poster that has pride of place in his bedroom on the top floor of the 12-storey Housing Commission high-rise at 510 Lygon Street, Carlton.

"Going to London to play soccer is the best thing that will ever happen to me," says Remzi, one of two youngsters from Eritrean refugee families in the flats in a 30-strong Australian contingent chosen for an annual contest hosted by one of United's traditional rivals, Arsenal.

The 17th annual Arsenal International Soccer Festival will run from July 28 to August 5 at the Royal Holloway University in Surrey. It will attract talent scouts from Britain and elsewhere in Europe.

From Pele to Maradona, this is a familiar story. For countless youngsters around the world, a passion (and flair) for the game promises a chance to triumph over economic and social disadvantage.

"Yeah, that would be the best dream," Remzi says of his ambition to one day play for Manchester United.

Remzi unlocks the security door to the flat he shares with his mother and sister. The football video game, Pro Evolution Soccer, is paused on a TV inside.

His room overlooks traffic and trams and headstones in Melbourne Cemetery.

Remzi was born in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, and fled to Sudan with his family during the conflict with Ethiopia. They travelled by bus and camel.

"I remember halfway to the border they told us we had to go back because they wouldn't let us out," says Remzi, who was eight years old when the family reached Melbourne. "Then, somehow, we made it."

A floor below his high-rise flat, 17-year-old Arsenal fan ("definitely!") Salah Musa lives with his parents and three sisters.

"This is a perfect chance for me," says Salah, who names former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira and star striker Thierry Henry among his heroes.

Remzi and Salah are among almost 600 refugees from the horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia) who now live in Carlton's public housing.

This is a community in which a study by a Monash University researcher found family life had been disrupted in war and refugee camps. Women had often come to Australia without their husbands, who had died, were lost in Africa or otherwise separated from their families.

Many of the youngsters' education has been disrupted in their troubled countries.

But there is an obvious camaraderie and a shared passion for the "world game". Footy may rule elsewhere in Melbourne. Here soccer is everything, says Mia Bromley.

She is a program director with the YMCA's Carlton Parkville Youth Services, which runs a drop-in centre at the flats and soccer teams for younger players. The service is helping Remzi and Salah raise the almost $7000 they will each need for air fares, accommodation and other costs on their trip. Both teenagers are also selling raffle tickets to help raise the money.

"It's constant," Ms Bromley says of the local soccer obsession. "That's all they want to do. It's what they think about. It's what they dream about. It's what they talk about. It's everything."

The stakes will be high when they play in Britain — Remzi on the right wing with the Australian under 16s, Salah midfield with the under 19s — in Surrey. Is this the fairytale ticket to a brighter future? "We don't want to create a false hope," says organiser Jim Tsolakis, managing director of the new Arsenal Soccer Schools Australia.

It was set up late last year and is one of 14 such schools around the world, including in Egypt, Portugal, Hong Kong and Malaysia. They are visited by Arsenal coaches and use training programs devised and monitored by the club.

Mr Tsolakis hopes that some of the Australians who play at the Arsenal event will be invited to train with the club's youth teams.

"Who knows? It certainly will help them with that opportunity but also with their opportunities back home as the A-League gets better and, if we can develop the players, there's Asia," he says. "There's a huge market."

Salah, who is in year 12 at Brunswick Secondary College, plays for Fitzroy City. Remzi, in year 10 at University High School, plays for Essendon Royals. Will he follow his heroes, who include Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United's dazzling right winger?

"Soccer is pretty much my whole life," he says. "All I want to be is a soccer player."
For further information on Remzi and Salah's trip, contact Mia Bromley at the YMCA's Carlton Parkville Youth Services on 9347 3600 or email

mia.bromley@ymca.org.au

These communities from Africa come from football cultures. The question is whether they are either aware or even interested in supporting a team such as Melbourne Victory.

Is Melbourne Victory doing anything to get them to the game.

Can we, as OSS do anything to get those who may be interested to come and watch a game.

Rollins · Tue Apr 24, 2007 11:22 am

Id like to help them, maybe we could organise & fundraiser to buy memberships or something. :?

gingersnap · Tue Apr 24, 2007 12:58 pm

I'd like to help also if i could in any way. I'm always up for helping ppl out :)

Rollins i like ur fundraiser idea.

Daydream · Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:23 am

I have reservations about "helping" a community out, without being actively involved and participating in dialogue in it....but of course am open to any ideas that everyone has.

CLMV · Wed Apr 25, 2007 4:04 pm

one of those guys goes to my kids' school

Daydream · Thu Apr 26, 2007 1:03 am

Well, there's a starting point then!

CLMV · Thu Apr 26, 2007 8:17 am

as the article says
the kids are fundraising to go to England to play in a tournament
(as is Irish from the darkside)

the school is helping them sell raffle tickets

if we want to help these particular kids, a good start would be to buy, or better sell, some raffle tickets for them
since that is what they have decided to do themselves

on the other hand, if it is a more abstract idea
I think there are lots of inner city football mad kids from African communities who would enjoy the Victory

Daydream · Thu Apr 26, 2007 11:29 am

Fantastic idea! If you can get a hold of some raffle books, I'll be happy to sell one or two.
Another idea I had was maybe we could invite the boys to come over for a casual Saturday kickabout with the WTF???/Trojan Athletic crew in Kensington, just for the fun of it?

GweedsOSS · Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:21 am

I can see down the track if OSS grows to be involved in things like:

- Inviting members of the community such as from football-loving countries which may not have the opportunity or may be hesitant to come to a match (ie such as African refugees) with us and making them confortable. This will need some assistance from the club (giving a couple of tickets out)

- Organising fundraising events (ie football quiz night) to help people such as Remzi to go and trial etc.

This is not feasible at the stage for us because we are small and underesourced. But I think out group has the potential to do such things in a few years time.

Daydream · Fri Apr 27, 2007 5:16 pm

I agree gweeds, they're wonderful aspirations for us to have.

CLMV · Sat Apr 28, 2007 6:48 am

I agree too

esp the first idea I think is quite achievable

there are already a number of projects for working with refugee youth that involve setting up soccer teams, or opportunities to play
eg in the Carlton flats
so it would be quite achievable to make contact via one of those and invite some of them to come to a match with us

I think the club could well be open to the idea of helping out with a few tickets, by and by
and if not, perhaps we fund raise to pay for them

gingersnap · Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:45 am

Gweeds mentioned possibly hosting a trivia night. I like that idea.

The club where i'm part of the commitee and where i dance and choreograph, rents out the place to the locals and other ppl interested in hiring out the place.

If it was ever to be decided that oss would like to do something along those lines of hosting a trivia night or even a fundraising dinner, i'd be more than happy to (if u all agree) book the club for a night.

The club (hall) has been used for trivia nights and other fundraising nights by local schools etc before so it shouldnt be a problem.

The club does have monthly functions there and is booked for other occasions regulary so need to keep that in mind when wanting to hire the place out.

It does cost for a non member more to hire out the place, but as i am a member i could get it cheaper.

Anyway thats my suggestion. Of course it doesnt have to be at our club, it could be else where, somewhere central near the cbd, as our club is located in the westurn suburbs in laverton.

OSS can also maybe host a family fun day to help fundraise.
I've been involved with this before for our local communitiess youth group, Where a few of us got together and decided to raise money to renovate and re-furnish a youth room at the slovak communitiess church.

Was a great sucsess and we raised not only from that day but from a fundrasing dinner over $4000 and we used all that to renovate the room.

Looks fantastic now and the local kids enjoy the room as well as some of us who like to go chill out there every now and then.

Ok well those are my thoughts and suggestions. Hope it helped some what.