Monday, August 10, 2009
Carded!
The Friday Football club has really picked up. We’ve moved up from five-a-side to a much more crowded six-a-side with subs. When I first started organising football, the guys were almost a bit too polite. They were quite clearly holding back, not really challenging opponents for the ball.
Well, that has changed. Everyone has become quite comfortable and now the guys playing at full pelt. Two weeks ago fights nearly broke out. It wasn’t helped by the rain, which makes the astroturf unbelievably slippy. A couple of the older guys with families (who feel the pain of failing a bit more than the guys in their late teens) don’t really want to risk getting injured, so they said that they would stop coming if football became anymore physical. I suppose this was inevitable when you mix about eight different nationalities and age differences of up to 20 years in a fast paced and physical sport.
So, I decided to appoint a referee. An Iranian friend (actually, he refereed for a club in Iran -- good to have experience on our side) and I decided to split the duties. I admit that I did this with some trepidation, as I wasn’t sure how the guys would react. Thankfully, it all went very well. Though there was some hargy-bargy over the validity of some of my calls, the addition of a ref went down very well. It clamed down the atmosphere a bit and everybody enjoyed themselves. It’s also good news for my volunteers, who quite often take a few knocks!
Another great thing about our weekly meeting for football is that we’re starting to become known by the staff and others who regularly use Petershill Park. I suppose that we’re a bit of an oddity; a guy in the locker room told me the other day, "Scots, Americans, Palestinians, and Afghans playing football together? Can’t say that’s normal in Springburn." The fact that we have a mix of Celtic and Rangers tops in the mix also confuses the issue for some. It becomes a great opportunity to share and a practical expression that integration, though not always easy, is definitely possible and that the church is at the forefront.
The team bibs, washed and drying.
0 comments :
Post a Comment
