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- By Franklin Junior Journalist, Taylor Budge
A Pukekohe nine-year-old is about to embark on the trip of a lifetime later this month.
Remy Fell has been picked to play for the RH3 New Zealand Football team at the Youth World Cup Challenge in New York.
A striker, Fell attends Valley School in Pukekohe where he is in year five. He will head to the USA as part of former All White, Ricki Herbert’s Academy.
The tournament will be staged soon after North America hosts the FIFA World Cup, one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
“Going to another country to play football, seeing how kids from other countries play and playing with and against amazing players tests my skills and helps me to improve,” Fell told the Times.
“The tournament itself looks like it will be awesome with an opening ceremony and closing ceremony, like the Olympic Games has.”
Fell’s football journey started when he was very young, as he explains.
“I have been playing football since I was 18 months old,” Fell says. “When I was three, I started playing for Pukekohe AFC in their junior Small Whites programme, then when I was eight, I started to play for Franklin United.”
Fell’s director of football at Franklin United, Bradley Rea, who is also a selector for the academy, says the youngster has earned this opportunity based on merit.
“Remy has earned it through hard work, dedication, and professionalism both on and off the pitch,” says Rea. “His commitment to improvement is constant, and his technical ability continues to set him apart.”
While the trip to the USA is an amazing opportunity for Fell, it comes at a significant cost. His parents are having to pay for him as well as one of them to attend the competition.
His family has been fundraising by going door to door around Pukekohe selling chocolates and holding sausage sizzles around town.
They have also set up a Givealittle page – search ‘help Remy’ givealittle.co.nz.
The tournament is running July 21–26. Teams from a total of almost 50 countries are attending.
Remy is one of a number of players from Franklin United attending the tournament. Contact the club for details about how to help any or all of these young footballers achieve their goals in this competition or the next – Ed.
