Well this entry is completely dedicated to the mammoth task of fund-raising for the Homeless World Cup, least of all because that’s where this whole concept and idea began(see previous blogs) .
After i came back form Milan 2009 i was inspired and plans began to form then knowing i wanted to get to Brazil 2010 and help out such a great cause and event.
So 8 cities in 8 days and a walk in each city/town on route, London, Leicester, Luton, Nottingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and then Edinburgh.
I met some great people and was able to take one of the participants with me (Darren Lavin) he grew in stature on route and was able to explain to people why football has helped him so much, we also stopped in at a salvation army hostel and took on another passenger from there (Mark Morgan).
In Luton we met one of the guys who eventually made the England Team in Rio ( Dwayne Nathan Williams)
Through many ups and downs we made it to the Homeless World Cup HQ in Edinburgh and were welcomed on the Hibernian’s Pitch.
Here we are with the England Flag signed by all the well wishers along the way and we also had a Scottish Flag we presented to the Scottish Team manager (David Duke) Check out Street Soccer Scotland on facebook.
Well the journey was completed and when the dust was settled we had raised enough money to pay for a player to represent his country and it meant i could be there as a volunteer again!!!
September 2010 i was now ready to set off for Rio, a time for reflection and looking back on the achievements of the last year.
So much has been accomplished in such a short period of time, needless to say none of this is achieved without so many people and the help of a partner who is a football widow in every sense and so supportive.
So many good people who continue to inspire me from all around the world and just around the corner from Stephen Barton in Liverpool to Kelly Brown in Oxford, from Andy Hook in Edinburgh to Lee Robinson in Australia , these and many more, too many to mention here…..
Without these people and thousands like them who care about the disadvantaged in our world, well we would all be worse off that’s for sure.
Rio was amazing and surpassed all my expectations and met some old friends and made some new ones, had a few tears and loads of smiles, from the Haiti Ladies to the New Zealand Men all had a story to tell and came and went with a new attitude.
Here for those who haven’t heard about it before is a sample of the game voted the best from the 2010 (apologies for the commentary in German)
And finally a picture of yours truly and a few memories from Rio 2010 and looking forward to Paris 2011
Jon Regler (Still Chairman)
Streets Revolution - the Blog 