Friendly Academy racing against time

FRIENDLY Academy is racing against time to raise funds for their upcoming trip to Rome in Italy scheduled for May 13 to 18.

The Raylton-based academy received an invitation letter for the Under-18 tournament from the tournament technical director Giuseppe Materazzi early this week.

“We are glad to invite your team Friendly Academy to participate in the 16th edition of the Lazio Cup 2024 reserved for players Under-18 years, which will be played from May 13 to 18, in Rome (Italy).

“In the past editions, we had the participation of clubs like Atletico Madrid, AS Roma, FC Inter, AC Milan, Juventus, Atalanta BC, Genoa, Torino, Lazio, SSC Napoli, UC Sampdoria,

Bologna, Empoli, Hellas Verona, US Salernitana, Partizan Belgrade, Sparta Praga, Aspire Academy (Qatar), and many others.

The tournament, authorised by the Italy Soccer Federation, UEFA (International Europe Soccer Organisation), and FIFA, has a multi-year history and over the years it has registered the participation of players, who are part of Italy National Team Selection, such as Federico Bernardeschi, Lorenzo Insigne, Federico Chiesa, Milan Skriniar, Mario Balotelli, Nicolò Zaniolo, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marco Verratti, Ciro Immobile, and other professional players competing in different Professional Europe Leagues,” they stated.

Friendly Academy co-founder and director Sydney Matanhike said they are in a dire situation for funding if they are to see their dream of participating in the tournament.

“We have been invited for the prestigious tournament but funds are not forthcoming. We would like to take 25 players for the tournament and finances are a stumbling block and we appeal to the corporate world to help us,” said Matanhike.