How a Business can get Involved!

Here is a breakdown of what every donation to support disadvantaged young people in the schools or poor communities of Curitiba will contribute towards:

- £2.50 will provide ONE HOUR of sport or English lessons.
- £18.50 will provide a full DAY of sport or English lessons.
- £92.50 will provide a WEEK of sport or English lessons.
- Telling friends or family about the project...NOTHING!

However we would love for companies to sponsor us and represent the region on a global scale.

For £100 a company will receive:

• their logo on banners which will be used for all fundraising and during delivery in Brazil.
• their logo on a hoarding will be used for interviews that will be posted on our social media sites.
• each company will get an newsletter update from us on our progress.
• each company will get a personal message of thanks for their donation.
• we would be willing to be involved in any press releases stating how you have helped them.

Sponsor Update!

Delighted to announce that The North East HUB are going to be one of our sponsors and support us with our social media. It is brilliant to have them on board and look forward to them sharing our cause with a bigger audience!

Website: http://thenortheasthub.com/blog/ 

Lionsraw Meeting

So today we had the pleasure of meeting some key executive members from Lionsraw. It was great to be able to meet new people, but also to explain a bit more about our background and personalities. 2013 is going to be huge with some events potentially out of this world! That is our first meeting of the week done and two more planned for the rest of the week focusing on social media. Merry Christmas!

EUROS FOR EUROPE 2020

UEFA announce multiple cities to host EURO 2020

Euro 2020 will be held across multiple host cities across Europe which will change from the usual format of one or two countries hosting the tournament every four years. UEFA have described the proposal as a 'Euros for Europe'. The home nations have already expressed an interest in staging matches while the FA have put Wembley forward as a host venue. The bidding process between cities will start early in 2013 and will end in 2014.

We can see the benefits of an individual city hosting part of the event as it does provide a feel good factor among the local residents who have a chance to welcome new people to their city and showcase what they have to offer. Due to the economic climate it can also provide less pressure on a country to develop football stadiums and infrastructure to cope with a major sporting event, especially as the event will change to a 24 team tournament from 2016.

However it might affect the unique atmosphere one or two countries have been hosting the entire event. It will deny fans the chance to get involved with a host countries culture, remove any tourism benefits and might lose national pride from hosting a major sporting event. It may cause logistical issues getting around Europe for fans wanting to watch their team depending on how UEFA would like the event to run.

It is going to be a change to the traditional format to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the event and might be a one off change. Either way it is certainly an interesting idea and has people talking about what might happen.

Check our Facebook and Twitter

The Future of English Football

Our Visit To St.Georges Park 

The purpose of our visit to St.Georges Park was to receive coach education and to keep up to date with the progression of the English game. During our time at the national football centre we watched various coaching sessions such as ball retention and possession, the transference of Futsal skills and playing in the final thirds. We also had the privilege to take a tour of the facility which is unbelievable.

In this article we will take you through some of the fantastic areas of St.Georges Park and talk about some of the things we learnt during the first ever licenced coaches conference to be held there.

Guest Speakers Included - Sir Trevor Brooking (Director of Football Development), Les Howie (Head of Grassroots Coaching), Toni Minichiello (UK Athletics, Coach to Jessica Ennis), Brent Hills (Assistant National Coach Women’s Football),  Dr Steve Peters (Consultant Psychiatrist - UK Athletics - British Cycling / Team Sky Pro Cycling), Owen Coyle (Former Bolton Wanderers and Burnley Manager)

Behind the scene photos from our time at St.Georges Park

This is the fantastic full sized indoor artificial pitch (120m - 80m)

The Elite pitch in which England's senior team train on. The children in the background are from a local football club and were used for a session on ball retention and possession.

The FA is getting on board with the Futsal movement and this is the FA's brand new Futsal training area. In this picture we see Julie Callaghan (Regional Coach Development Manager) talking to us about Futsal sessions and the transference to regular football. Futsal is a game we are likely to see quite a lot of in Brazil with the recent success of Brazil's national Futsal team in the Futsal World Cup.

Hydrotherapy Suite

Hydrotherapy pool at St George's Park - The hydrotherapy pools are brilliant for recovery and relaxation. The players will do five laps of the ice bath and then spend two minutes in the hot tub and then repeat the process.

Hydroworx underwater treadmill - Used for sports rehabilitation and is great for fast recoveries with less pain involved for the athletes. Only eight of these exist in the UK at the moment and one of them owned by Alistair Brownlee the current Triathlon Olympic champion. Costing £300,000 this is surely St Georges Park's treasured item.

Variopool - Because of the adjustable depth this pool can be used for stretching, gentle swimming and jogging which makes this a fantastic piece of equipment for all types of sporting disciplines.

Sports Massage - sports massages have numerous benefits as they help maintain the body generally in better condition, prevent injuries and loss of mobility / flexibility. They can restore mobility to injured muscle tissue, boost performance and extend the overall life of your sporting career.

Gymnasium and Performance Analysis

This is the area where qualified sports medicine staff take blood samples and perform medical tests on athletes.

Batak reaction board - its purpose is to measure a person's ability to see, process and react to visual information quickly. This piece of equipment is great for training to have faster reflexes and reactions which is handy for all athletes.

Specialist treadmills to increase cardiovascular fitness and endurance.

Far right is the performance analysis bikes which are great for competitiveness between teammates and is great for recording performance.

Far right is the state of the art Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill. this treadmill pumps air into the zip-locked chamber that covers the treadmill below the user’s waist in order to counteract gravity, this in turn allows the runner to offset their body weight by 80 percent. This machine is great because it protects the joints from high impact running whilst still giving them a effective cardiovascular workout. It is said that using this machine can speed up recovery time by two to four weeks.

St Georges Park's very own altitude chamber. Oxygen is filtered out of the air to simulate training at altitude. Athletes must work harder to run on treadmills and push the pedals around on the bikes. Humidity and temperature can be controlled in the chamber to create the most realistic environment for training purposes. Ahead of Rio in 2014, for example, Roy Hodgson’s squad can adapt to exercising in unfamiliar conditions.

It is simple if you are interested in how the mind works and how to use the mind to boost sports performance, BUY THIS BOOK. Dr Steve Peters has worked with big names in sport such as Sir Chris Hoy, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Craig Bellamy and has now been signed as a sports psychiatrist at Liverpool FC. This book is not sports specific but can be applied to sports in many situations. One thing left to say from the conference is BEWARE OF YOUR CHIMP!!!!!!!!

Inspiration and History

150 manikins for each and every birthday the English FA has had. A fantastically rich history demonstrated by the use of appropriately designed manikins such as the Sir Bobby Robson and Bobby Moore designed manikins.

Former Newcastle United and England legend Paul Gascoigne plastered on the walls of England's national football centre. Gascoigne won 57 caps for England's senior team and scored 10 goals.

Diego Maradona's infamous 'HAND OF GOD' goal against England's Peter Shilton in the 1986 World cup. A painful memory for a generation of English fans and one which will be remembered when walking the St. George's park corridors.

From a painful memory to a glorious one. Here is England's World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore. Bobby lifted the World Cup trophy after a very successful 1966 tournament which was hosted by England.

One of the most iconic football photos in HISTORY, here we see Bobby Moore and Pele swapping shirts after the opening game of the 1970 Mexico world cup. This photo is a personal favourite of ours because our dream and objective is to get to Brazil and coach disadvantaged children and this picture shows two giant footballing nations sharing a historic moment. Hopefully we will be sharing historic football moments with the community of Curitiba in 2014.

St. George's Park Facts & Figures.

• The sports hall is 1/3 of the area of the current Wembley pitch and is the largest seamless area elastic PU floor in the UK
• St. George's Park has 1 altitude chamber
• 2 full size Futsal pitches can be accommodated in the indoor sports hall
• 3.5 miles of rabbit fencing has been used to protect pitches
• 5 gymnasiums (Hilton and Hampton by Hilton gyms, Biomechanical gym, Rehabilitation gym, Strength and Conditioning gym)
• 5 pitches have under-soil heating and floodlighting
• 12 full-size pitches, including one indoor full-size pitch
• 232 air conditioned rooms in the Hilton and Hampton by Hilton hotels
• 14 suites in the Hilton hotel
• The technology at St. George’s Park is run by 15-20 servers
• 230 televisions and projector screens have been installed with 23 touch screens and boards
• St. George’s Park is home to 24 England teams
• East Midlands airport is 26.1 miles from St. George's Park
• Birmingham Airport is 32.8 miles from St. George's Park
• There are 41 executive rooms in the Hilton hotel
• 50km of brick blocks if laid one in front of the other that would stretch the distance from the site to Birmingham
• 60m running track
• 60m x 40m multi-purpose indoor sports hall
• 65inch touch screen television in the England senior team dressing room
• The rubber crumb used in the gymnasium and re-habiliation rooms is the same granulate used in the outdoor track upon which Usain Bolt broke the 100m record
• 120m x 80m indoor full-size artificial football pitch
• 132 miles to Wembley Stadium
• 130km of pipe to service the under-soil heating
• 138 infield irrigation points
• 250 person education complex
• 275 job created
• 330 acres of land
• 350 car park spaces
• 400 telephones and internet services are installed at St. George’s Park, costing £1.5million
• 500 seat conference centre
• 800 new coaches to be trained and qualified per year at St. George's Park
• 800 coaches to receive Continued Professional Development across the game
• 1,200 licensed coach educators (tutors) to be trained and licensed
• The idea of a national football centre was first discussed in the year 1975
• By 2017 The FA is committed to reducing the ratio of qualified coaches to players from the 1:68 to 1:25
• It takes 4,000 litres of water per night to service the under-soil heating
• 55,000 coaches will go through Levels 1 & 2 and youth award qualifications which will be delivered by the new 1,200 coach educators
• If the roof fabric was removed and made into souvenirs, there is enough to make 64,000 football boot bags
• 90,000 bolts have been used to connect the steel work and is the equivalent to a typical Wembley crowd
• 2.4million litres of water is in a holding tank to service the infield irrigation points
• There was a £3million technology budget
• There are 100million blades of Desso Grassmaster synthetic fibres on the main ‘Elite’ pitch, where the England senior team will train - an exact replica of the surface at Wembley Stadium

Source from www.thefa.com

THE FUTURE OF ENGLISH FOOTBALL LOOKS BRIGHT

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World Cup Stadiums

 World Cup 2014 Stadiums

 

The stadiums for the Brazil World Cup are set to be some of the most beautifully constructed stadiums in the world. With sustainability being at the heart of most of the stadium designs, the Brazil world cup is sure to leave a great legacy and great stadiums to showcase WORLD football.

Check out these fantastic stadiums

 

Estadio Mineirao

This stadium is in the city of Belo Horizonte, It has a overall capacity of 62,547. Estadio Mineirao is set to undergo a complete makeover before hosting six world cup matches including a semi final.

 

Estadio Nacional

This stadium is in the city of Brasilia (the federal capital of Brazil), It has an overall capacity of 70,064. The cities wonderful new stadium will host the 2013 confederations cup opening match and will host seven 2014 world cup matches including a quarter final game.

 

Arena Pantanal

This stadium is in the city of Cuiaba, It has an overall capacity of 42,968. Sustainability was at the heart of this stadium design and after world cup commitments this stadium will host a variety of different events to make sure that there is a lasting legacy for the city of Cuiaba.

 

Estadio Castelo

 

This stadium is in the city of Fortalez, it has an overall capacity of 64,846. The city is full of passionate football supporters and the city is sure to have that world cup buzz about it during competition time. The stadium will host 2013 Confederations Cup matches and 2014 World Cup matches.

 

Arena De Sao Paulo

This stadium is in the city of Sao Paulo, It has an overall capacity of 65,807. Sport Club Corinthians Paulista is one of the cities best supported football clubs and the only football club in the city not to own their own stadium. The Arena De Sao Paulo will serve the Corinthians faithful well during Série A competition and during World cup 2014 competition.

 

Estadio Beira-Rio





This stadium is in the city of Porto Alegre, after the stadium refurbishments the stadium will have a capacity of 50,287. This stadium is set in picture postcard surroundings and is situated near the river Guaiba. The stadium is poised to hold five 2014 FIFA world cup games including a round of sixteen tie.

 

 

 Arena Fonte Nova

 

This stadium is in the city of Salvador, It has an overall capacity of 56,000. The stadium will have a complex which will have a panoramic restaurant, a football museum, car parks, shops, hotels and a concert hall. Sure to be one of the stars of the world cup this stadium will hold four group matches, a round of 16 tie and a quarter final tie.

 

 

Arena Pernambuco

 

This Arena is located in the city of Recife, it will have space for around 43,921spectators. The Arena will be part of a complex including cinemas, shopping centres and restaurants. The Arena will host five world cup matches and is sure to be teeming with world cup atmosphere.

 

 

Estadio Das Dunas

 

This stadium is located in the city of Natal and will have an overall capacity of 42,086. For Natal to host 2014 world cup games the city had to demolish two buildings to make way for this fantastic stadium. One of the cities great sights are its sand dunes and the stadium designs are set to feature some sand dune features.

 

 

Arena Amazonia

 

 



This Arena is uniquely situation in the heart of the amazon rainforest and the city of Manaus, the stadium will have a capacity of around 42,374. The stadium designs resemble that of a straw basket a product in which the area is renowned for. Sustainability will again be present with this Arena with the use of clean renewable energy from the sun. The Arena will host four group matches during the world cup and will also be used for concerts and cultural events post tournament.

 

 

 

Estadio Do Maracana

 



This stadium is located in the beautiful city of Rio De Janeiro and has a capacity of 76,804. The Maracana is the cities second most popular tourist attraction and draws football fans from around the world to see its marvellous sight. Once the largest stadium in the world holding crowds of up to 200,000 fans the Maracana is no doubt Brazil's leading light and beacon of football. The stadium has been reduced in size and has received renovations to update the stadium. This stadium is on my own personal hitlist of stadiums to visit and i am determined to visit during my year volunteering in Curitiba.

 

On July 13th the eyes of the whole world will be glaring down on the Maracana as the stadium will provide a fantastic setting for FIFA's 20th World cup final. Sure to be a historic event for this historic stadium.

 

 Arena Da Baixada (OUR HOME FOR A YEAR)

 

This Arena is in the city of Curitiba and has a capacity of 41,456. Curitiba is a pioneer of sustainability in a city and is said to be one of Brazil's greenest cities. The stadium is said to be one of the worlds most modern and is set to have a gigantic TV screen installed on the side of this stadium. The stadium owners are Atletico Paranaense who have just recently been promoted to the Série A. Arena Da Baixada will host four FIFA world cup matches and the Curitiba locals are in for a real treat during competition time.

 

@PROJECTCURITIBA

Craig and Michael's Story

ABOUT US

In 2012 we spent two weeks in Warsaw, Poland during Euro 2012 coaching football in schools and youth detention centres. This opportunity came about through our volunteering through StreetGames and their partnership with the football charity Lionsraw. This was an amazing opportunity as it gave us a chance to learn new skills and gain life experience. In Poland all our sessions focused on teamwork and handling disappointment as that is something the youth offender’s centres had identified as appropriate to the groups. In the school sessions we were treated like celebrities as the children wanted to meet their new coaches from England. The experience of being in a city hosting a major sporting event was incredible.

We share a dream of wanting to go to the Brazil World Cup in 2014 not just as spectators but as people who want to make a difference in the world by using sport as the tool to engage disadvantaged people. The surrounding area of Curitiba has problems including drugs, but young children do not attend school leaving them with little to do apart from resort to a life of crime. Even within the city children attend school for half a day meaning they have free time that needs to be occupied.

This article is about us and our backgrounds in sport, volunteering and our life experiences.

Craig Robson

Age – 23 Born – Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom Volunteer Experience – I started volunteering during my degree at Northumbria University. Through my degree placement I started working with North Tyneside Council and eventually this led to a full time coaching role. However I remained a volunteer and continued to support new volunteers on a project set up by the Council. This meant I was able to travel to Poland and represent our project. Sporting Experience – I hold a variety of sports qualifications including football, table tennis, dodgeball and athletics at level 2. I am also qualified as bikeability instructor teaching young people how to cycle on the roads safely. Life Experience – Poland 2012 was amazing as it is the first major sporting event I have attended in a different country. I spent a month travelling around Peru visiting the Amazon and Machu Pichu which was classic. Hobbies and Interests - My main hobby is sport as it is something that I am involved with daily either as work or socially. I enjoy travelling and learning about new cultures which make Brazil 2014 an ideal experience!

Michael Gardner

Age – 21

Born – Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Volunteer Experience – I started volunteering after deciding that I did not want to work my whole life doing something I was not passionate about. Football has always been a big part of my life and I started to volunteer at my local football project called the HatTrick project. I volunteer for my local football club and I am also on the young advisors board for a national charity called StreetGames.

Sporting Experience – I have years of experience coaching football and through my volunteering commitments I have won both local and national awards for outstanding contributions to my local community. I have a FA level 1 and nearing completion of my FA level 2. I am a sports leader’s level 2 and I am also a qualified tutor. I hope to gain a lot more qualifications during the year to prepare me for Brazil 2014.

Life Experience – Poland 2012 was life changing for me because the work was so worthwhile and it felt that we were leaving a lasting legacy for Warsaw. Through my work with StreetGames I was offered a work placement with Coca Cola during the London 2012 Olympic Games. I was based at the Olympic Park and had the privileged to witness the unbelievable atmosphere around the parks whilst watching the different sports in my spare time.

Hobbies and Interests - My main hobby is football, I coach and play football. I support Newcastle United who play in the English Premier League. I have witnessed some of the world’s biggest sporting events and it is safe to say that I have caught the bug and shall be using my passion to change lives all over the world.

WATCH OUT BRAZIL 2014

HOME SUPPORT FROM OUR TEAM WESTGATE LIONSRAW

AND SO IT BEGINS!!!!!!!!!

@PROJECTCURITIBA

Brazil Day

One of the ideas that we would like to develop is a link between our local communities and the communities of Curitiba. One way of doing this will be to invite schools to help support us by hosting a Brazil Day or #BrazilDay for those who follow us on our Twitter. 

The idea behind Brazil Day will be school children to support us by attending a non uniform day wearing the yellow and green colours of Brazil. Each class will also have the chance to take part in a futsal taster session learning a new trick or skill.

 Hopefully this doesn't finish when the day is over as we would like to actively encourage the schools taking part to create a link to a school or one of the favela communities in Curitiba where we will be spending a year volunteering. The first bit of good news is that we had a positive meeting with one school today who are very keen to have us in the school as it will help them with their International School Award. Exciting!

Polska!

After hearing the news about the success of Lionsraw in Poland I had to have a look back through the photographs of our amazing time in Warsaw! (courtesy of Adam Summers)

The beautiful city of Warsaw.

The Mini Euro 2012 tournament held at a youth detention centre.

One of the schools which had fantastic facilities.

The team.

Background

The aim of our year in Brazil will be to engage people in sport from schools and education departments, but also from the surrounding favelas where most young people do not attend school. Often these children are left with a future involved in crime or drugs. One project in the favela of Tangue involved with a former player invites children to spend the morning playing football and then in the afternoon they do school lessons including learning English. The opportunity to be involved in this is very appealing. Michael and I spent two weeks in Warsaw during Euro 2012 teaching football in young offender centres, drug recreational units and schools with Lionsraw and StreetGames. The culmination of this was a 16 team tournament across two days involving different young offender centres, special schools and drug rehabilitation groups. We have since learned that the tournament will be an annual event and is going to be replicated in 3 other Polish cities. Definitely a legacy left! C

Welcome to our blog

Firstly welcome to our blog and thanks for taking the time to visit. Michael and I will be updating this with any bits of information regarding our mission to spend a year volunteering in Curitiba, Brazil during 2014. This will be kept up to date on our progress in fundraising £10,000 to help support our flights and accommodation over the year. We are just back from a meeting with Kev Clark from the charity Lionsraw which has sparked even more enthusiasm and drive to reach our target. Just hearing about potential projects we will be involved, the opportunity to create a legacy and make a difference has got us excited. C