Perth Glory players attended Westfield Carousel last night to sign the Hyundai Goodwill Ball, which has travelled all over the country and given fans the opportunity to send their messages of support to the Qantas Socceroos.
Perth Glory players attended Westfield Carousel last night to sign the Hyundai Goodwill Ball, which has travelled all over the country and given fans the opportunity to send their messages of support to the Qantas Socceroos.
Glory-s number one goal keeper Tando Velaphi and rising star Andrija Jukic were at the centre to promote the Goodwill Ball in the lead up to the world-s showpiece sporting event – the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The Goodwill Ball has been taken on a national road show in both major cities and regional hubs, where fans and supporters have been able to send their well wishes to the Australian squad, with the Ball being taken all the way to South Africa in May.
The 32 nations that qualified for the FIFA World Cup had their own Goodwill Ball, each one 4m in diameter, and travelled their respective countries. The balls will then follow their teams and the messages will be on display at Group Stage matches.
“It-s a fantastic initiative for all Australians to get involved in and show their support.
“It-s the biggest sporting event in the world and it-s great for us to have some involvement in it,” Velaphi said.
Perth-s custodian, a former Olyroo who was selected for his first Socceroos camp last year, says it-s the ultimate dream to be a part of the World Cup and is excited to see our home-grown heroes in action.
“We-re looking forward to seeing who makes the squad, especially which Hyundai A-league players make the squad and hopefully some of our boys from Glory,” Velaphi said.
Perth Glory World Cup hopefuls Jacob Burns and Mile Sterjovski are both in England training with Premier League squads while Chris Coyne is enjoying his stint in China with Liaoning Hongyun, all with the aim of staking their claims to be part of the team in South Africa.
It is estimated that over 10,000 supporter signatures and messages of goodwill have been collected on the ball including those from prominent Australians, country Ambassadors, FIFA representatives, government officials and of course a legion of Socceroo supporters and well-wishers.
All 32 Goodwill Balls will end their journey in, South Africa in May, just before the 2010 FIFA World Cup kicks off.
