AUSTRALIAN soccer great Archie Thompson was on hand to catch the action at the third annual AMES Australia Multicultural Cup in Mildura at the weekend.
The two-day extravaganza at Aero Ovals was aimed at helping those from a migrant or refugee background who play the world game.
The tournament is supported by migrant and refugee settlement agency AMES Australia, alongside Football Federation Sunraysia and Football Victoria, and aims to provide links for potential participants from various multicultural backgrounds to the local sporting body.
FFS general manager Susan Watts said the whole tournament had been really well received again.
“A lot of people who hadn’t seen it before were blown away with what we are doing and how the whole day had come together,” she said.
“Part of the whole idea of the event is to introduce people to the sport and make them comfortable to try it for the first time.
“We had two more teams than last year, and we had a lot more people around the sidelines watching, which was great.
“In the future we would like more junior players involved but we’ll see how it progresses.”
Former Socceroos and Melbourne Victory star Thompson was the special guest, also taking the pitch for a couple of games on Saturday.
Watts said the three-time A-League champion was the star of the show.
“I think a lot of the guys got a real kick out of him being there, there was a lot of bragging that they were stopping his shots on goal!” she said.
“Archie really seemed to enjoy himself and he was fantastic in just having conversations with people, and he was followed around pretty much all day.”
The open men’s category was the toughest competition, taken out by Port Vila who won four of their five matches.
That included a 9-2 victory over AMES Australia on day one.
Tournament regulars Melbourne Afghan Soccer Association finished runners-up after five games with nine points, however their superior goal difference gave them the advantage over Viet Nam and Kings Smol Town who also earned three victories.
An open women’s division took part for the first time, and Nichols Point’s pair of 4-0 wins over Mallee Matriarchs and Aussie Blue Tongues meant they took home the trophy.
In the over-35 men, Hellas took on Australia in two matches and while the latter was a 1-1 draw, the first game’s 3-1 win for Hellas gave them the title.
Football Federation Sunraysia moves into its Summers 7s competition this week.
