Saturday night’s thrilling victory at Townsville’s Dairy Farmers Stadium was also a win for Mission Australia, with our distinctive red heart logo being seen by thousands of football fans across the nation.
As The Fury’s official charity of choice, our branding appears on both the team’s home and away strips. This really is a tremendous way to spread the word about Mission Australia, given that up to a million people a week watch their games live and via television coverage.
Among those cheering for The Fury was Prins Ralston, Mission Australia’s Executive Leader, who worked hard in the lead up to the new A-League season to forge our three-year partnership with the club.
“The Fury thought highly of us and for them the differentiation was the special care we took with the people we work with, especially in the youth area,” he said. “So they thought we would be a good fit.
“From our point of view, the fact that soccer is the highest youth participation game in Australia is very significant. David Williams, The Fury’s very talented young striker, is also such a fantastic role model for young Aboriginal people that it makes great sense for us to join forces with the team.”
Mission Australia and The Fury will run a range of programs that will engage youth in northern Queensland and the Northern Territory, including courses in sports administration and coaching that students will come out of with qualifications and work experience.”
We will also run joint programs through the Queensland and Northern Territory men’s and women’s correctional systems to better prepare Aboriginal people for life after release.
“There are a lot of exciting things in the pipeline,” said Prins. "For example, we’re looking at working together to run after-school ‘homework clubs’ in Townsville, Cairns and Darwin initially, with hopes to extend it westwards.”
Prins is confident that many fundraising opportunities will arise from the partnership over the next three years, such as the Fury playing a Mission Australia “team of choice” made up of sponsored players.
Mission Australia is also honoured to be the charity of choice when the Socceroos play World Cup quarter-finalists Paraguay on October 9 at the Sydney Football Stadium.
The Fury play Melbourne Victory this Sunday at 3pm.
