| GLOBAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION ESTABLISHED TO ASSIST AMATEUR FOOTBALL PLAYERS IN TRAVELING TO PLAY OVERSEAS
Texas-based Global Football Inc. has established the Global Football Foundation with the mission and purpose of assisting amateur football players and their coaches in realizing the opportunities to travel internationally while competing against other American football teams and experiencing different cultures. The foundation will assist athletes in meeting the expenses associated with traveling overseas to represent a college, youth, high school or all-star team. It will allow potential benefactors to make donations to offset costs that might otherwise prevent the student athletes from undertaking the trip of a lifetime. The initial event for the Foundation, which is a registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation, will be the 2010 Tazon de Estrellas (Bowl of Stars) in Mexico. The concept blossomed from the an idea conceived by late Central College head football coach Ron Schipper, who had a dream of giving Division III senior football athletes the opportunity to play in an international post-season football game. Coach Schipper, who led Central College for 36 years from 1961 to 1996, helped conceive the idea of the Aztec Bowl, along with Global Football President Patrick Steenberge, an annual event that featured an US all-star team made up of Division III senior football players taking on a team in Mexico. The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) funded the event from 1997 to 2007, giving the athletes an opportunity to compete internationally without the burden of financial obstacles. In nine of those ten years the US all-star team was victorious. When the Aztec Bowl ceased in 2007 after 11 years of existence, Steenberge worked to continue the concept, and thus developed a similar event in 2009 called the Tazón de Estrellas (Bowl of the Stars). A group of 52 players from 35 colleges and 20 states known as Team Stars & Stripes successfully visited Mexico on a cultural and educational visit, culminating in a game against the Tec de Monterrey All-Stars. Team Stars & Stripes, led by head coach Bill Manlove, fell to the Tec de Monterrey All-Stars 24-12 despite a rousing fourth quarter comeback attempt to overturn a 17-point deficit. Without the AFCA involvement, each traveling athletes had to fund the trip himself, limiting the number of people able to take part in the experience and denying coach Manlove some of the all-star players originally identified for the roster. “Establishing a foundation to assist in the financing of such overseas visits will alleviate many of the financial issues that players face in being able to make an exciting trip overseas,” said Global Football President Patrick Steenberge. “The initial reaction from athletes is that they are thrilled at the prospect of participating, but then the final cost can cause some to miss out. This foundation will help players fulfill their dreams.” The concept of the Global Football Foundation has now become a reality thanks to Steenberge, Central College Director of Athletic Training & Education John Roslien, and Central College assistant football coach and Iowa CPA Don DeWaard. “Coach Schipper had the desire to give DIII athletes the opportunity to play in a post-season game and with the development of the Global Football Foundation it is our hope to make that dream a reality for all,” said DeWaard. Both Steenberge and Roslien were an integral part of the Aztec Bowl since its conception and DeWaard took part during five of the ten years. Steenberge and Roslien are the Global Football Foundation President and Vice President respectively and DeWaard has been named Treasurer. Initially, the foundation’s primary focus will be to help fund the second annual NCAA Division III all-star post-season game in Mexico – the Tazon de Estrellas – but is also planned to expand to other events in the future. The Foundation will allow individuals, organizations, businesses, colleges, universities and family members to support the players with their travel expenses through their donations, made through a check or wire transfer, to the Global Football Foundation, Inc. Global Football Foundation Vice President John Roslien explained: “Our hope is to raise enough money to finance the event for every participating athlete and be able to spread the money out to many of the 288 Division III college athletes in the United States.” Global Football is currently organizing the second annual 2010 Tazon de Estrellas to be held in December. Team Stars & Stripes – an all-star team made up of Division III college seniors – will take on the CONADEIP All-Stars in Mexico at a venue to be confirmed. The CONADEIP All-stars will field a roster of players selected from educational institutions within the CONADEIP Premier League, which kicks off its inaugural football season in the fall of 2010, having restructured to provide a highly competitive schedule for the long-dominant private universities in Mexico. To make a donation to the Global Football Foundation, please contact Patrick Steenberge at Patrick@GlobalFootball.com or 817-219-7274. |
PLEDGE TO SEND DRAKE TO AFRICA!
In May of 2011 the Drake University football team will travel to the country of Tanzania in Africa to play the very first American football game ever on the continent! The game will be held in Moshi, Tanzania, under the shadows of Mount Kilimanjaro. Prior to the game, the team will spend time conducting Youth Football Clinics around the city of Moshi. Global Football, a Texas-based football events organization, is coordinating the football, marketing and international travel aspects of the tour. Global Football has produced football events in some 18 different nations since 1996, working with groups like the NFL, Notre Dame and Penn State. After this historic event, the team will work for three days doing service projects in and around Moshi. The primary project will be working in an orphanage in Moshi called Kitaa Hope Orphanage http://www.kitaahopehome.org. The orphanage was founded in 2006 and relies on donations, the help of volunteers, and the local community to keep it running. The children that live there are between 4 and 12 years old and all have been orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS in the area. The team will spend time in the orphanage and will help physically construct a much needed addition. There are an estimated 1.5 million orphans in the country of Tanzania alone. The final phase of the trip will be to climb and summit Mount Kilimanjaro. Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest point on the continent of Africa and stands 19,340 feet tall. The climb will take a total of six days. Sandy Hatfield Clubb, our Athletic Director has summited “Kili” and has arranged for a Tanzanian guide service to lead us up the mountain. The Drake Football program is about more than winning football games in the fall each year. Our program’s vision is to make playing football at Drake one of the most incredible experiences of our lives! This trip exemplifies who we are and what we are all about. We want to do something special with our lives. This trip allows for us to bring the game we love to a place and to a people who have never experienced it. This trip also provides a unique opportunity to serve those who are far less fortunate than we are and to hopefully make a positive difference. Finally, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro as a team will be one of the greatest challenges we will ever face. This trip will be an experience of a lifetime. The trip costs $4,000 a person. We are going to raise this money as a team this summer and fall. We need your help. On the following page we have outlined a fundraiser for our 2010 season. Your financial support will significantly affect Drake Football players’ lives and YOU will become a part of this important event in football history. We also wanted you to know that Global Football is arranging trips for those interested in going to Tanzania to watch the game and spend time in Moshi and on safari. Please contact Patrick Steenberge at patrick@globalfootball.com for more information. Our Team goal is to make it possible for every team member to participate in this experience of a lifetime. During the 2010 season we need to raise the money for this trip. You can donate a flat amount or you can choose to donate a dollar amount per point scored or sack made this season. Last year we averaged 26 points a game and had 36 sacks for the season (approximately 322 total points/sacks). Thank you so much for being such an integral part of this trip. Please click on the link below to make a pledge today! |