#OGWC19 Update.
Firstly, we would like to thank everyone who has already entered a team for what we hope is going to be a great day of participation and competitive Recreational Football, on 21st June in Soissons.
So far, we have received 16 entries, including teams from England, Wales, the USA and some players from Scotland and other countries.
Soissons FC & Soissons Council.
We are extremely grateful to Soissons FC and Soissons Council, who have been brilliant in working with us to organise this Event. Please check out the Soissons FC Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/soissons.fc.9/ for some more information on their Club. They will be organising activities for the FIFAWWC and these will include the following, as posted on their Page by Manu Ducarroz, who is the Head of Women’s Football at Soissons FC:
“Several events will take place in our city in order to promote women’s football in the region…
📌 a week of women’s football will take place in May with the Soissons FC: Discovery, initiations, workshops etc etc…
📌 a festive day will take place with various activities in collaboration the daf and the city of soissons
📌 a women’s international tournament in collaboration with an English club as well as the city hall of soissons.
Already English, Welsh, Scottish and American teams will be present 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇺🇸
More information very soon…
#OGWC19 #foot #soccer #worldcup #Soissons #Alain Crémont #District Aisne Football”
We are planning to go to Soissons, in May, to support their Women’s Football Week and to finalise the arrangements for our own Event.
The “Jean-Pierre Papin” Stadium was opened in May 2016 by the former European Footballer of the Year, himself. This video of the opening day will show you the Soissons FC Stadium. https://vimeo.com/167350705
Accommodation:
We believe those who have entered, have also booked their accommodation too, at the Berny Riviere Campsite. There will be a meet up on Thursday 20th June, in the evening at the Pool Bar, for everyone to get together for a few drinks, meet each other and enjoy the facilities. The Event is on Facebook to join. https://www.facebook.com/events/2479938605367439/
If you haven’t booked your accommodation yet, Lifestyle Holidays are doing 4 and 7 day stays. https://www.lifestyleholidays.co.uk/la-croix-du-vieux-pont-berny-riviere/
Travel:
No one knows what’s going to happen with “Brexit” yet but if you are travelling by car, there is a possibility if there is a delay agreed, travelling via Calais will be less trying than previously thought! Whilst driving on the A26, there is a toll to pay which is approximately £14.00 for a single journey. It’s a fairly straightforward drive from Calais, which took us 2 1/2 hours exactly. For teams in the EU presently, please make sure everyone has an up to date passport, just in case it’s needed as, no doubt, there’ll be a long delay to get one if it’s left until the last minute.
Registration Fee:
An acknowledgement will be sent on receipt of any payments. The fee is £70 per team (£10 per person for the minimum number needed).
Format:
The Festival will run during the day as a 7v7 participation event with 4 groups of teams (we have 8 places available). Each team will be issued with a Country which is playing in the FIFAWWC and will play as that Country with their team name. Depending on final numbers, we will work out the game time accordingly. The day will be a fun event for Women who are relatively new to football with some experienced players and we believe that teams will be evenly matched to enjoy playing against each other. There will be trophies for “Team of the Group” and also for “Player of the Group” which will be chosen by the referees for the “best all round” from each group, that they think deserve recognition. If you attended the COGS Festival last year, this worked quite well. Everyone will receive a medal.
The evening event will be the competitive tournament which will include countries playing for the Old Girls’ “World Cup” (we’ve seen it and it’s worth winning!). The way we are going to work this, is that if we have an abundance of English players, we will have an England vs. England play-off game to see which English team goes through to the knockout games. We will then have 2 knockout semi-finals, which will be drawn out of the “hat” with teams from England, Wales, USA and a Rest of World/French team if we can get some of the Soissons’ Mums together. The winners will then go through to the Old Girls’ “World Cup” Final. During the day, we will get a list of confirmed players who can play in the evening event. This will be competitive as each country will be playing for the Cup.
Insurance:
Everyone will need the correct insurance to play in the Festival. Teams will be responsible for organising the appropriate insurance prior to playing. There will be the equivalent of St. John’s Ambulance on site during the Festival. Please check that travel insurance covers you adequately. Players will be playing at their own risk.
Welcome Packs:
On arrival each team will be given Welcome Packs, which will include a Welcome Note, Team Sheet, Fixture List, Programme and a Country flag (laminated, with ties) so you can set up camp as your Country. All teams will be advised of their Country prior to the event so they can purchase flags if they want to.
Raffle:
We will be holding a raffle to raise money for two Women’s Charities – one English and one French. The English charity will be Women’s Aid and the French charity is tbc.
We have some exciting prizes which include signed international shirts as well as other national Club shirts along with some other prizes so please bring plenty of Euros! The Draw will be made at the Event. We will look into the possibility of others being able to purchase tickets online.
#OGWC19
Please use the hashtag #OGWC19 on any social media posts and photos so we can find them! Thanks.
If you have any further questions or need help with anything, please don’t hesitate to ask!
Yours in Sport,
Carol Bates, Jo Treharne & Siona Murray – COGS, Bags & Welsh Lionesses.