Newcomers have a ball at soccer event
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.00 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.00 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/04/2024 (733 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A day of drills, instruction, fair play, and fun were all part of an introduction to soccer event held on Sunday in the indoor fieldhouse at the Wheat City Golf Course.
The free event for new Canadian kids aged 10 to 14 years old was hosted by Brandon United Football Cooperative, a soccer club and academy, said the club’s president Rodrigo Riquelme.
“We are trying to encourage and develop improvements in community and in soccer,” Riquelme said.
“I was looking for support for newcomer kids to introduce them to soccer, so I applied for a Canada Soccer grant that was offered to us through Manitoba Soccer,” he said.
Riquelme said he approached Westman Immigrant Services in Brandon to gauge their interest in helping to provide him with participants and was told to “go ahead.”
Once the grant came through, he added, “I contacted Westman Immigrant Services again, and they helped me organize. In one week, they had 30 kids just like that, boom,” Riquelme said.
The grant money was used to buy T-shirts for the participants and rental of the space, which is where six sheets of ice used to be for the Wheat City Curling Club.
The area is about 10,000 square feet, with turf that was installed in August 2023 and is used for rugby, lacrosse, football, and soccer.
It’s the perfect space for the kids and the coaches — who volunteered their time to lead the young athletes through their paces, said Ryan Childs, who is the facility and equipment, and social media director for Brandon United FC.
“We’re getting them exposed to soccer, one of the world’s largest sports. And it’s a very easy, nice, and friendly way of welcoming the kids. KidSport is here too, to help them register, if they want to continue with us in the outdoor season once that starts up,” Childs said.
KidSport provides grants to help cover the costs of registration fees so that all kids aged 18 and under in Western Manitoba can play a full season of sport.
Riquelme grew up in Chile and said that soccer is part of his culture and was the only sport he played when he was little. When he was old enough, he added, he became a referee, and when he’s not working as a chemical engineer, he helps run the football club.
As he looked at the activity in the fieldhouse he said, “I feel happy because I am now 10 years in Canada. And 50 per cent of our members are newcomers, or Canadians not born in Canada. So, this is community.
“That’s why there are seven or eight coaches volunteering their time on a Sunday because they feel like me too. Football is life.” Riquelme added with a laugh.
For more information on by Brandon United Football Cooperative, visit https://brandonunitedfootball.ca/
» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com
» X: @enviromichele