Vic Country wins first FIDA National Championships

FIDA Vic Country

Vic Country, captained by Williamstown’s Sifa Kuila, have emerged undefeated in the first FIDA National Championships. The championships were held in Melbourne on Saturday 27 July (Kensington) and Sunday 28 July (Parkville) and featured four teams playing a total of eight games: Vic Country, Vic Metro, South Australia and New South Wales-ACT.

FIDA, the Football Integration Development Association, is a competition for footballers with intellectual disabilities.

After beating Vic Metro by 17 points in a close game first up on Saturday morning, Vic Country held South Australia scoreless in the second match of the day.

Then in the early fixture on Sunday morning, Vic Country defeated the rapidly improving NSW-ACT side, who went on to cause the upset of the carnival by defeating South Australia for third place.

The Grand Final was between the top two finishers, Vic Country and Vic Metro. In a high standard encounter, the country side matched Metro early before establishing a handy lead by half time.

Metro came back strongly in the third term but Vic Country steadied and finished strongly to record an impressive and historic victory.

Williamstown’s Kelvin O’Connor was named Man of the Grand Final after an inspiring effort, while the Seagulls’ other representative, Ray Causon, who had rucked strongly all day, kicked the Goal of the Day from a set shot on the boundary line into the stiff wind.

The victors were coached by Williamstown FIDA coach Rob Klemm. Commented umpire Col Newcombe: “I did wonder how Rob would handle the pressure when the opposition got a run on during the 3rd Quarter, but in usual Rob fashion, he made a few moves and there was nothing to fuss about.”

Meanwhile the scores of the third-place play-off and the Grand Final seem to have gone missing. “In all the excitement, no-one seems to have recorded them,” said Rob Klemm. (No doubt the scores are written on the goal-umpires’ cards. Here’s hoping those cards haven’t ended up in the wash somewhere.)

The Victorian FIDA season resumes this Sunday 4 August : Ringwood v Mazenod at Jubilee Park, Coburg v Williamstown at Mantello Holden Reserve (City Oval),  Chadstone v Kannanook at Jordan Reserve. Top team North Ballarat have the bye.

More details: http://www.fida.org.au/

About Vin Maskell

Founder and editor of Stereo Stories, a partner site of The Footy Almanac. Likes a gentle kick of the footy on a Sunday morning, when his back's not playing up. Been known to take a more than keen interest in scoreboards - the older the better.

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