Tag: Aberdeen FC

Clubbing together to support Ukraine’s journey to Homeless World Cup

Aberdeen, Celtic, Hearts, Hibernian and Rangers, five of Scotland’s biggest and most successful football clubs have joined together to support and aid Homeless World Cup Member Country Ukraine’s journey to the Sacramento 2023 Homeless World Cup.

Working alongside the Homeless World Cup Foundation, a recent donation from the five clubs has meant that Ukraine can send a team to this year’s tournament under difficult and challenging circumstances.

The donation will cover travel for Ukraine to compete in the 18th edition of the Homeless World Cup, being held in the US for the first time in its 20-year history.

‘The Way home’ has been a partner and worked alongside the Homeless World Cup for many years and have been an inaugural part of the tournament since 2004 and were winners of the Homeless World Cup in Milan 2009.

The Sacramento 2023 Homeless World Cup will take place from Saturday 8th July – Saturday 15th July 2023 at California State University, Sacramento. As well as the venue for the games, being played at the Hornet Stadium, the university will also accommodate the visiting countries from across the globe and their players on campus.

From Paris to Cardiff, Glasgow to Milan, Edinburgh to Mexico City and Melbourne to Cape Town, this world class tournament has been played in some exceptional cities and venues to bring awareness and understanding to this global issue – homelessness.

The Homeless World Cup is an annual, world-class, international football tournament. Every year, teams of men and women who are homeless or have experienced homelessness get the chance to represent their country during the tournament.

Mel Young, co-founder, and Homeless World Cup President, said: “It’s fantastic news that the five Scottish clubs have come together to ensure Ukraine, one of our key partners can get to and compete in Sacramento, The Way Home has continued to work in extremely difficult conditions in Odessa.

“The Homeless World Cup always look to support our Member Countries however we can, and we look forward to welcoming Ukraine, who have fielded a team every year at the tournament since 2004 to Sacramento and the US for the 18th edition of the Homeless World Cup.

“All five clubs didn’t hesitate when asked to help our Ukrainian partner with their journey and we are incredibly grateful for their support in making this dream a reality to those players who will represent Ukraine on the international stage in Sacramento this July.

“I’m proud of the five Scottish clubs and the generosity they have shown by coming together to support Ukraine. This demonstrates how impactful football and sport can be in making a difference to the lives of so many.”

Aberdeen’s Chief Executive, Alan Burrows. said: “Football is a game for all and as a club we were delighted to play our part in supporting Ukraine’s journey to Sacramento to participate in the 2023 Homeless World Cup.

“The ongoing conflict in Ukraine shouldn’t be a barrier for those looking to participate in sport and the Homeless World Cup is the perfect example of how football can inspire and change lives for the better.

“We wish them all the best in the tournament.” 

Chief Executive of Hearts, Andrew McKinlay, said: “We’re delighted to have supported the Ukrainian team at this year’s Homeless World Cup. Everyone connected with Hearts knows well the power of football and how it can be a truly positive force in our lives.

“The conflict in Ukraine, and the widespread homelessness seen across the planet, affects us all. Initiatives like the Homeless World Cup are vital in raising awareness and supporting this global issue. 

“Everyone at Heart of Midlothian wishes the teams, organisers and all participants the very best when the tournament begins in California next month.”

Hibernian FC’s Non-Executive Chairman Malcolm McPherson, said: “The relationship that our club and supporters have with Ukraine is quite unique.

“Whether that’s through the work done by the Hibernian Community Foundation or through Dnipro Kids, we have all been committed to helping Ukrainian people through this incredible difficult time.

“We’re proud to be able to continue that support by backing the Ukrainian team at this year’s Homeless World Cup, which shines a light on two great issues that affect everyone worldwide; the conflict in Ukraine and global homelessness.

“Football is an incredibly powerful sport, and initiatives like the Homeless World Cup can inspire, enforce change, and raise awareness of these global issues.

“Everyone at Hibernian FC wishes everyone taking part in the tournament great success.”

Celtic FC Foundation Chief Executive, Tony Hamilton, said: “Working with the homeless community is a regular feature of what we do here, and we are delighted that we can assist with this in some small way. 

“Football is universal and the Homeless World Cup is everything good about the game that we all love. I hope this year’s event in the USA is a great success for everyone involved.”

Connal Cochrane, Rangers Charity Foundation Chief Executive, said: “What a wonderful way to come together for a common cause. I hope the Ukrainian team create powerful memories and many new friendships in Sacramento.”

Hospitality rules tightened

Face coverings to be mandatory across more indoor public premises 

Settings where face coverings must be legally worn in Scotland is expanding to include certain indoor public places such as cinemas, galleries, museums and banks, from today (Saturday 8 August).

Further rules for the hospitality sector, including the introduction of new statutory guidance, have been announced to increase compliance and keep the sector safely open.

While the new guidance won’t come into effect until Friday 14 August, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has emphasised that the hospitality industry should already be doing the right thing, and if not then they should start now.

Hospitality premises should be collecting customer contact details for Test and Protect. Tables should be pre-booked where possible, with no queueing. There should be no background music and TVs should be muted to reduce the need for people to shout or lean in to each other, and no more than three households at a time should be meeting in a group.

From next Friday (14 August), it will be mandatory to collect contact details of customers in a range of hospitality and public settings.

Face shields may be used but only if they are worn in addition to a face covering. While exemptions to face coverings will apply, the new settings face coverings must now be worn in will include:

  • any premises open to members of the public and used for the retail sale or hire of goods or services. This now includes: shops; takeaway restaurants; estate agents; and beauty parlours. This does not extend to hospitality premises such as sit-in cafes and restaurants
  • aquariums, indoor zoos or visitor farms, and any other indoor tourist, heritage or cultural site
  • banks, building societies and credit unions
  • cinemas
  • community centres
  • crematoriums and funeral directors premises
  • libraries and public reading rooms
  • museums and galleries
  • places of worship
  • post offices
  • storage and distribution facilities, including collection and drop off points

The First Minister said: “To say that the incident in Aberdeen is deeply regrettable is an understatement. But it underlines an extremely important point: any time one of us fails to abide by the rules, we put others at risk and give this virus the chance to come roaring back. 

“That’s something which we simply cannot afford to do. We’ve seen – every day of this outbreak – how easily COVID-19 can spread.

“We need to do everything we can to stop it in its tracks and that is why we are expanding the mandatory use of face coverings in more indoor public spaces, and will be implementing further regulations for the hospitality sector. Many of these measures should already be in place as part of the guidance, but in order to keep the sector open – safely – we are now placing them in law.

“We are the frontline in making sure that Covid doesn’t spread, and so we all need to keep doing the right things.”

The Scottish COVID-19 Workbook has also been published. It brings into one place advice on how local and national public health agencies will provide support to prevent virus spread, together with advice on outbreak management.

Alongside the workbook the Scottish Government will publish ‘Sector Advice Cards’ that details how different sectors can take action to prevent the spread of the virus, avoid outbreaks, reporting and helping to manage outbreaks. The first Sector Advice Card for schools was published yesterday.

Further detail on the mandatory collection of contact information of people in hospitality sectors will be published next week.