Swindon Town Football Club Donate Kit to Peru Parish
Following the Bishop of Clifton’s pastoral visit to South America,
Swindon Town Football Club has donated a set of football kits to a
children’s football team in Peru.
During half-time at Saturday’s (23 April) game against Tranmere Rovers, Father Kevin Hennessey from St Mary’s Catholic Church in Swindon was presented with the kit by Iffy Onuora, Swindon Town’s Head of Youth Development.
The Bishop of Clifton, Right Reverend Declan Lang, visited Peru earlier this year as part of a pastoral visit to priests of the Clifton Diocese (which covers Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Bristol) working in South America.
During the pastoral visit Bishop Declan attended a football tournament in Moquegua, Peru organised by Father Daniel O’Sullivan, who is originally from Bath and is now working for the St James Missionary Society.
Moquegua is an area which suffers from poverty and after noticing that the children were playing in t-shirts, Bishop Declan contacted Father Kevin Hennessey, a Swindon Town supporter for over 30 years, and of late, Youth Team Chaplain.
Swindon Town gave a number of their football shirts to Father Kevin for the children of Moquegua to wear with pride as they take on local teams from around the region.
After hearing of the generous donation by Swindon Town, Father Daniel said:
“The boys in my parish have never possessed real football shirts. It will be a special moment when they receive kits from an English professional club.
“As you probably don’t know where Moquegua is, the boys have been asking me where is Swindon. So I've been helping them with their geography and sharing some of my early memories.
“I grew up as an avid Bath City supporter and vividly remember some memorable cup games between Bath City and Swindon Town. If my memory serves me well in 1961 Bath drew away 2-2 with Swindon and then lost a thriller 6-5 in Bath. I remember being too sick to go to school that day! So as the boys here receive their kits it will be a special moment for me, too, bringing back nostalgic school boy memories.
“A very big thank you to Swindon Town Football Club for helping us to encourage the noble game here in Peru. I and our young footballers wish the club every success”.
Peru hasn’t qualified for a World Cup for over 20 years and lack of finances has caused problems with the top clubs in the country. Despite this there are several top Peruvian players plying their trade abroad – including Aston Villa’s Nolberto Solano and Bayern Munich’s Claudio Pizarro and Paolo Guerrero.
Useful URL : http://www.swindontownfc.co.uk
During half-time at Saturday’s (23 April) game against Tranmere Rovers, Father Kevin Hennessey from St Mary’s Catholic Church in Swindon was presented with the kit by Iffy Onuora, Swindon Town’s Head of Youth Development.
The Bishop of Clifton, Right Reverend Declan Lang, visited Peru earlier this year as part of a pastoral visit to priests of the Clifton Diocese (which covers Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Bristol) working in South America.
During the pastoral visit Bishop Declan attended a football tournament in Moquegua, Peru organised by Father Daniel O’Sullivan, who is originally from Bath and is now working for the St James Missionary Society.
Moquegua is an area which suffers from poverty and after noticing that the children were playing in t-shirts, Bishop Declan contacted Father Kevin Hennessey, a Swindon Town supporter for over 30 years, and of late, Youth Team Chaplain.
Swindon Town gave a number of their football shirts to Father Kevin for the children of Moquegua to wear with pride as they take on local teams from around the region.
After hearing of the generous donation by Swindon Town, Father Daniel said:
“The boys in my parish have never possessed real football shirts. It will be a special moment when they receive kits from an English professional club.
“As you probably don’t know where Moquegua is, the boys have been asking me where is Swindon. So I've been helping them with their geography and sharing some of my early memories.
“I grew up as an avid Bath City supporter and vividly remember some memorable cup games between Bath City and Swindon Town. If my memory serves me well in 1961 Bath drew away 2-2 with Swindon and then lost a thriller 6-5 in Bath. I remember being too sick to go to school that day! So as the boys here receive their kits it will be a special moment for me, too, bringing back nostalgic school boy memories.
“A very big thank you to Swindon Town Football Club for helping us to encourage the noble game here in Peru. I and our young footballers wish the club every success”.
Peru hasn’t qualified for a World Cup for over 20 years and lack of finances has caused problems with the top clubs in the country. Despite this there are several top Peruvian players plying their trade abroad – including Aston Villa’s Nolberto Solano and Bayern Munich’s Claudio Pizarro and Paolo Guerrero.
Useful URL : http://www.swindontownfc.co.uk
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