Premier Alan Carpenter today announced that Western Australia would play a key role in the biggest Australian sports event to be held in Indonesia this week.
Players from the State’s Football West competition and the Perth Glory Football Club arrived in the Indonesian Province of East Java to take part in a series of soccer games and activities from today until July 4.
The inaugural WA - East Java Football Friendship Cup stems from WA’s 18-year-old Sister-State relationship with East Java.
“This sporting event focuses on identifying opportunities for building mutual and long-standing friendships between East Java and WA,” Mr Carpenter said.
“Sport is close to the hearts of many people in WA and East Java and is an invaluable way to bring our regions closer together.
“I look forward to the Friendship Cup bringing people together and developing friendships and contacts on a personal level.
“The goodwill generated from this sporting event also opens the door for fostering business opportunities between our two regions, and helps to promote our State’s overall relationship with East Java in a definable way.”
The first soccer match will kick off this evening (June 25), when Football West faces the East Java All-Province Under 23s team.
A highlight of this evening’s opening ceremony and soccer match will be 2006 runner-up of Australian Idol, Jessica Mauboy, performing Advance Australia Fair and East Java’s own singer-actress, Ervyl Revylda, performing Indonesia Raya.
Following the Friendship Cup, Perth Glory with play two other Indonesian super league teams.
A WA sports seminar will also take place, bringing together more than 100 soccer representatives to hear about strategic sports planning on a local government level.
The Friendship Cup was administered by the State Government’s WA Trade Office in Indonesia, which appointed a football taskforce in March 2007.
Other agencies to support the sporting festivities include WA’s Department of Industry and Resources, the Department of Sport and Recreation, Football West and Perth Glory.
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