Volunteers reflect soccer world

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This article was published 26/05/2015 (4152 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On paper, they hail from every sort of background and all over, from international students to retired executives, and at least one small-business owner. Now, for a few weeks at least, they will get to share the same rare title. They are all 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup volunteers.

As the tournament’s countdown clock dropped below the two-week mark last weekend, its local volunteer engine started picking up speed. The accreditation office at Investors Group Field is now open, and on Monday afternoon some of the 275 volunteers trickled in and out, picking up their official passes.

For their commitment, they are rewarded with a kit of official World Cup swag, but that’s not really what drew them to sign up. Mostly, they came for the experience, a chance to be part of something truly global — and, of course, they came for the love of the game.

In October 2013, FIFA launched its national call for volunteers with a Parliament Hill announcement. The response in Winnipeg was “tremendous,” venue general manager Chad Falk said. Indeed, he added, Winnipeg was one of the first host cities to close its online sign-up, having collected a mountain of applications.

The volunteers they selected span nations and generations. They include plenty of lifetime locals, but also folks such as Niwi Akinwande, who grew up in soccer-loving Nigeria. Now in his third year of studying international development at Canadian Mennonite University, he jumped at the chance to be part of a World Cup.

“It’s exciting, but it’s a little bit nervous,” said Akinwande, who will be helping out at pre-game events. “I want to make people be more comfortable, and hosting people is interesting. It’s fun, and a little bit of nervousness comes in as well. You want to make everything more perfect.”

Among the first to apply was Barry McArton. He’s known in Winnipeg as the retired former executive director of CancerCare Manitoba, though to his daughter’s soccer team, he’s better known as “coach.” He started guiding her squads when she was just eight years old — and 19 years later, many of them are still at it.

“We took that team through all of the age groups, and kept them together and made a women’s team, and they’re still playing,” McArton said, noting the team will attend a match together. “Watching them grow from girls to women, and watching the role that soccer’s played as they’ve evolved as people is really, really neat.”

When a FIFA staffer came to the women’s league to tell them about volunteer opportunities, McArton and his wife jumped at the chance.

“This only happens to Winnipeg once in a lifetime,” McArton said. “We probably won’t ever see a World Cup in Canada again. To get this in Winnipeg, it’s just primo. It couldn’t be better.”

Another early volunteer was Catherine Babb. When not running her popular educational-toy store, Scholar’s Choice, she’s been involved with the local soccer community for more than two decades, since her two grown children were little. As soon as she heard Winnipeg would host some FIFA matches, she started checking the Canadian Soccer Association website to find out how she could help.

Flash forward to Monday afternoon, where Babb was sitting in the sun, watching volunteers trickle in and out of the stadium’s accreditation centre, where she helps volunteers and vendors with their passes.

“I get tingles in there,” Babb said. “One thing I love is the diversity of cultures here, that are coming together in Winnipeg, who are all showing up here in support of soccer.

“I walk out there and eat my lunch on the deck, looking out on the stadium, and I’m so anxious to see the transformation of the venue, and see 28,000 people walking in here,” she continued. “There will be people from all over the world.”

Young fans need a ride

Meanwhile, one Norway House teacher is hoping Manitobans will chip in online, to help his young athletes bring their FIFA soccer dream to life.

The Cree nation, which sits 800 kilometres north of Winnipeg, is home to a growing youth soccer scene. This year, the girls’ indoor soccer squad won the Frontier Games championship, and the boys’ team earned bronze. To help bring some bonus inspiration to their efforts, coach and phys-ed teacher Michael Knox had an idea.

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“The Women’s World Cup is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for these kids to see some of the best soccer players in the world,” Knox said. “For me, it was whatever needed to be done to get the kids down there. Whatever money we have to raise is the priority… this trip is very important.”

The good news is the school board chipped in to obtain tickets for a match, so the 14 players, two chaperones and Knox will be able to watch reigning champions Japan take on Ecuador June 16. But the coach’s goal is to ensure the players’ families don’t have to pay a thing.

Support from the community has been overwhelming. By Monday night, the team’s Go Fund Me page — an online fundraising site — stood at just over $2,400 towards a $3,500 goal to cover the cost of busing to and from Winnipeg, and hotels. Knox would be thrilled to see that total cross the finish line.

Folks who want to help the Norway House athletes on their journey, can visit gofundme.com/pze6kw to chip in.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca

Melissa Martin
Reporter-at-large

Melissa Martin reports and opines for the Winnipeg Free Press.

Every piece of reporting Melissa produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.