|
Caroline de
Guzman Public
Relations Manager Singapore
Recreation Club DID: 6430 7572 Email:
caroline.pr@src.org.sg |
A. Rashid General
Manager/Secretary Singapore
Recreation Club Tel: 6339 9367 Email:
gm@src.org.sg |
Ambassadors’
SRC Charity Soccer Fiesta Raises $75,000 For Charity
SINGAPORE, 3
September 2003 – The
Ambassadors’ SRC Charity Soccer Fiesta will take place on Saturday, 6 September
2003 at the Padang. Now into its second year, the event has brought the
diplomatic community and foreign nationals in Singapore, and fellow
Singaporeans together through a game of football and has raised $75,000 for
seven beneficiaries. In doing so, it has exceeded last year’s amount of $60,000
or 25% more for charity.
Beneficiaries
The seven beneficiaries that will benefit from the event
include:
Money was raised through three channels – the sale of
advertisement space in a souvenir programme magazine, raffle ticket sales and
sponsorships.
The Programme
Billed as a mini-World Cup on the Padang, the Ambassadors’
SRC Charity Soccer Fiesta will see several firsts this year. 32 foreign
missions will vie for the challenge trophy, including missions that have
recently established a presence in Singapore, such as the African Republic of
Angola.
Pressed to make a prediction on which foreign mission would
win, Singapore Recreation Club (SRC) president, Dr Johnny Goh said “that would
be hard to predict. As we say in football, the ball is round and anything can
happen. No one would have predicted that last year’s finals would be played
between Thailand and the Maldives.”
A women’s and kids segment will see another twenty teams pit
their skills against each other. Teams participating in the kids category have
had their registration fees waived through Central Singapore Community
Development Council’s Free Kicks Programme. A total of eight local and two
international school teams have registered.
MPs Face SRC President’s Selection
As with last year, a star-studded
Parliamentarian team will play against the SRC President’s selection. This
includes Mr Davinder Singh, Mr Leong Horn Kee, Mr Zainudin Nordin, MPs for
Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC; Mr R Ravindran, MP for Marine Parade GRC, Mr Ahmad
Khalis, MP for Hong Kah GRC and Mr Chan Soo Sen, Minister of State for
Education, Community Development & Sports and MP for Joo Chiat.
To generate greater vibrancy and festive mood, thousands of
line dancers will descend on the Padang to cheer on the soccer teams and dance
the evening away. The SRC is set to better last year’s record of 6,000 line
dancers and has set a target for 10,000 line dancers this year.
Chairman of the Organising
Committee and Immediate Past President of SRC, Mr Tan Kah Hoe said “this event
is the initiative of SRC and is an expression of our appreciation to our
government and people of Singapore, for letting SRC occupy a magnificent, prime
piece of land in the heart of the civic district. The club wishes to assist in
strengthening the friendship and understanding between Singapore and all the
foreign missions accredited to our country through the game of soccer and
fundraising for the needy.”
“The diplomatic missions have
responded positively by pledging strong support for the event and actively
raising funds for charity, which will without a doubt generate a lot of
goodwill and build rapport with the local community,” he further commented.
Mr Heng Chee How, Mayor of Central
Singapore District and MP for Jalan Besar GRC will kick off the morning’s
activities together with Ms Irene Ng, MP for Tampines and Dr Amy Khor, MP for
Hong Kah GRC. The evening’s proceedings will see Assoc Prof Ho Peng Kee, Senior
Minister of State for Law & Home Affairs and MP for Nee Soon as Guest of
Honour.
This event is supported by
Singapore Sports Council, Singapore Pools, Central Singapore CDC, South West
CDC, the Football Association of Singapore and Borneo Motors. It is open to the
public, from 8am to 11:30pm.