Mission Statement        

The Friendship Cup works to combine the best practices of Australian Soccer and Multiculturalism in the form of a “Friendship Cup”. Bringing together teams from around Australia to compete together, whilst creating lifelong bonds we aim to foster:

• Sports hold the key to integrity, through fair play, discipline and good sportsmanship

·         The Friendship Cup promotes inclusion, integrity and sportsmanship

·         Beginning with sports and ending in friendship. The Friendship Cup is about building ongoing bonds that will last a lifetime.

·         The Friendship Cup aims to build a competition with fair play and cohesion

·         The Friendship Cup is more than just a competition; it aims to educate players in the way of teamwork, integrity, leadership and peace building.

           
         Friendship Cup 2011

The final match between two very talented teams was hard fought and exciting. The tournament was won by the Super Stars (blue uniforms). The runners up where the Sunshine Lions (yellow uniforms).

First prize trophy was presented by Sam Afra, the Chairperson of the Ethic Communities Council of Victoria to the captain of the Super Stars. The medal were presented by Steve Evans, Director of UPF Victoria and John Bellavance Founder of Voices for Peace

From the left:  Theresa  Sengaagaa Ssali, steering committee member, Sam Afra, the Super Stars and John Bellavance, Chairman of the Friendship Cup. Friendship Cup steering committee members (from the left) Rick McInerheney, Chairman of UPF Victoria, John Bellavance and Abdul Addulhad, Darfur Community elder thanking all the participants and organisers before the presentations of the prizes Second prize presented to the Captain of the Sunshine Lions

Belonging - Social Inclusion and Globalisation

Multiculturalism has a fundamental role to play in a social inclusion agenda. The recognition of cultural and ethnic diversity and how this impacts social inclusion is critical. Young people’s sense of belonging and identity in multicultural Australia is critical to their social inclusion. For young people from multicultural backgrounds, identity formation is influenced by a sense of belonging in terms of nationality,  cultural identity, family, and by the response from the broader society to themselves and to their community (Youth, 2011). As Australia continues to move towards a society that is made up of citizens from all over the world, new and old Australians need to understand each other. It is an important need for the people to feel included, accepted and appreciated by others.

 Providing Opportunities

The capacity to access economic and social opportunities and participate fully in Australian society is particularly important to new Australians (Youth, 2011). When new and old Australians participate in social or economic projects together leadership opportunities for those individuals open up. This elevates their profile in society and provides them with increased opportunities to demonstrate their talents, build personal skills as well as providing opportunities for networking.

 The Role of Sports in Multiculturalism

Sports bring people together in a way that even music, film or other forms of culture can do.