Footy Boots for the Cook Islands

Barnstoneworth are asking for your help to help out two local legends who wish to make a difference to the young footballers of The Cook Islands. We will have a donation box at our training session at Soccer5s Tuggerah on Sunday for any used boots and/or shin-pads you can donate.

Here’s the story from Sharon and Wayne, who are championing this worthy cause.

“Hi fellow Football Families,

We recently returned from a holiday in the Cook Islands and being Football Tragics we were able to find some local games to watch.

At the conclusion of the first game we watched, U/15 boys, we noticed that when they came off the field they were removing their boots and shinpads to pass onto the next team to take the field, the U/15 girls. Then again when the girls came off the field after their game they removed their already twice worn boots and shinpads and passed them to the next team to take the field, the U/17 boys! This was sad to witness and totally unexpected.

We then had a chat to one of the referees about this situation and said that we would like to find some way to help out here. She recommended who we should contact due to there being some issues with the Official Association. After making contact we had a visit from the Sports Manager from the Cook Islands Sports & National Olympic Committee (CISNOC).

We made the decision to see if we could obtain pre-loved, reasonable condition, football boots and shin pads to send back to The Cook Islands for distribution to those families/players who could not afford to purchase their own gear.

This is where our Fellow Football Families can help us. We will be collecting pre-loved boots and shin pads for the next few months with our aim to get
them to the Cook Islands in time for their 2023/2024 season.

Yours in Football
Sharon and Wayne“