A host of Melbourne Victory stars were recently involved in the club’s inaugural Community Week which was held between June 11 – 16, reaching hundreds of keen young footballers through a range of different activities.
A host of Melbourne Victory stars were recently involved in the club-s inaugural Community Week which was held between June 11 – 16, reaching hundreds of keen young footballers through a range of different activities.
This new initiative showcased Melbourne Victory-s extensive community involvement, in which the club was able to deliver multiple programs through primary and secondary schools, junior football clubs, multicultural communities as well as charities.
Players attended the ME Bank Victory Cup, providing inspirational team talks, plenty of autographs and posing for lots of photo-s with fans of all ages.
The ME Bank Victory Cup saw 14 secondary school boys and girls teams compete over two days, with the winners of the round robin tournaments going through to the next stage of the competition.
During Community Week, selected Victory players also visited Seaford Park and Bayswater primary schools to roll out the club-s ‘Kickin- Around with Victory- program, which sees the Melbourne Victory ambassador, coaches and players, deliver clinics in schools to students from grades five and six.
The ‘Club Victory- program saw Melbourne Victory visit the following junior clubs during Community Week;
• Fawkner
• Cardinia
• Beaumaris
• Brunswick
• Meadow Park
• Brighton
• Yarra Jets
• Bundoora Utd
Joe Mottola from Beaumaris Soccer Club said, “Great night! Both lads, Tando and Isaka, were brilliant and went way beyond the call of duty. Thanks again for the opportunity of having these visits, it was loved by all.”
While Thomas Bell from Brighton Soccer Club was just as enthusiastic, “The night went amazingly well, the kids loved the boys and there were plenty of smiles all round. Feeling great about Victory, that-s for sure!”
In addition to the Club Victory visits, recent signings Adama Traore and Julius Davies visited the Flemington Eagles for a clinic attended by young people from the local flats who turned out in force. Traore and Davies were joined by Unite FC (Horn of Africa Youth Academy) who provided 7 players to help with the coordination of the evening-s activities.
The two young stars watched on as the kids showed what they-re made of, and at the conclusion, Julius and Adama gave the players the opportunity to ask questions, while generally discussing football and the opportunities it has provided to both of them.
One of the highlights of the week though, was undoubtedly Melbourne Victory-s involvement in SEDA-S talented player training session on Gosch-s Paddock. Led by our own Kevin Muscat, Steve Mautone and Youth team Coach Darren Davies, the talented player group was put through its paces in-front of Victory young guns, Diogo Fereira and Jimmy Jeggo, who spoke exclusively with the students and shared photos and autographs at its completion.
These appearances weren-t limited to schools and junior clubs though either, with Melbourne Victory dropping in on one of the clubs charity partners, Open Family Australia. The visit included players Leigh Broxham and Matt Foschini hosting a clinic for some of Open Family Australia-s clients at ‘The Dock- in Dandenong. Open Family operate from a community space in Dandenong with at-risk young people of Pacific Islander decent. The clinic was a fantastic chance for the kids to experience football, learn some skills and meet some professional athletes. The clinic was put on to support Open Family Australia-s 21 Challenge, which Matt and Leigh have been heavily involved in to raise money for homeless youth.
Melbourne Victory-s community involvement will be further highlighted when the club host-s the KFC Regional Roadshow-s across Victoria in late July.
