THE Mini World Cup is not a quick five minute stopover to have a sticky.
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The pageant sucks you in with a richness of colour, talent, and irrepressible enthusiasm from the hundreds of players, coaches, staff, family and friends flooding the fields and sidelines.
Bring a chair.
All fields were well populated Monday and Tuesday, with a well-deserved rest day on Wednesday.
Action resumed with a vengeance Thursday morning, several matches to play.
Coach Jim Bim Rumanya was down from Brisbane with an under 11 and under 17 team.
He said his players had a few fears about the big event.
“The boys were a bit scared, but we kept encouraging them, telling them the boys who would be playing with them are like then, so they should not be scared,” he said.
“So, we talked a lot yesterday and I saw them building their confidence, and they believed themselves.”
It worked, and the under 11s made short work of the Brazil/Inverell side, beating them 8-0.
Down the field a cluster of under 13 Hervey Bay/Germany players sat in the shade, a bit dismayed, but still hopeful despite a deficit of wins.
“We are going good considering we have never played together,” Perth Bradford said.
“Playing under 13s here is, in a way like playing under 15s back home; it’s a new experience for all of us and I think we’re going to enjoy coming back next year,” Caitlyn Hanrahan added.
Brighter Access players were rapt, and service manager Tanya Fox said it was a great day.
“Our teams are raring to go. They’re training, even though they’re playing in the next half hour, they’re warming up and very excited,” she said.
This year’s new addition is the under 9 category, with teams from Inverell, Toowoomba, Gunnedah, and Lismore.
Each team has one player with a disability.
“That’s the real inclusion stuff, because they’re mixing with everyday kids,” Tanya said.
The Mini World Cup continues all day today at the Inverell Sporting Complex.
To see a gallery of Thursday at the mini world cup, click here.