Sydney: The Tibetan Community of Australia Football Team was formally launched in the presence of Representative Karma Singey of Office of Tibet, Canberra on Friday, 17 March. The Australian Tibetan Community is sending their team for the first time to participate in the Gyalyum Chenmo Memorial (GCM) Gold Cup to be held in Dharamshala in June 2023. The launch was held at Lakeview Hall, Tramshed Arts and Community Centre, Narrabeen in Sydney.
James Griffin MP, Mayor Michael Regan, and Jigme, Team Captain officially launched the TCA Football Team by cutting the team cake. Team mates Shiwa, Thubten and Jamchen were also present at the event.
The launch was attended by more than 50 people, including both supporters and sponsors. Amongst them the prominent guest were Representative Karma Singey, Michael Regan, Mayor of Northern Beaches Council, James Griffin, Member for Manly, Lee Gregory, Acting Chief Executive, Northern Sydney Local Health District, Dr Mitchell Smith, Director NSW Refugee Health Service and Dr David Wynter.
The chief guest of the event was Craig Foster AM, a 29-times-capped Socceroo and award-winning sports broadcaster who has spent the past decade campaigning for refugee rights and marginalised communities. Craig is a friend of the Tibetan community and in 2022 presented the Unity Cup to the winning football team. Unfortunately, due to scheduling problems, Craig could not be present at the event.
At the event, Cathy Butler, a member of the Project’s Advisory Committee spoke about the 2022 Unity Cup and its evaluation results. She is Manager of the Multicultural Health Service in the Northern Sydney Local Health District. Cathy established a comprehensive health assessment program for Tibetan refugees, assistance in navigating health services, a support group for Tibetan seniors and their carers and various health promotion initiatives. Cathy currently coordinates the Tibetan mentoring program which trains volunteers to provide one to one support to our vulnerable community members. Cathy is one of the Advisory Committee members of the TCA GCM Football Team.
Michael Ragen, Mayor of Northern Beaches Council has been actively involved with the Tibetan community since 2007. He has always shown a genuine interest in the settlement needs of our community and regularly attends community events that celebrate our unique culture. Michael was involved in the first football activities with the Tibetan community on the Northern Beaches over 15 years ago. Michael assured his support for the project.
Also at the launch event, Kalsang Tsering, President of the Australian Tibetan Community, Ngawa Choezin, President of the Sydney Tibetan Community, Lobsang Dolma from Multicultural Health Service, Mark Gould, Director of Bondi Rocks Media, Brad Palmer, Head Coach for the TCA team and Migmar Tsering, Secretary of the Sydney Tibetan Community were present.
Representative Karma Singey extended his heartiest congratulations to the team and expressed his gratitude to all the supporters for helping the players to achieve their dream of playing in the GCM Gold Cup. He also acknowledged the Project’s Advisory Committee members, who worked very hard to organise the launch, especially Cathy without her tireless effort the launch could not have happened. The event was attended by many Tibet supporters and sponsors.
James Griffin MP and Mayor Michael Regan officially launching TCA Football Team by cutting the team cake.
The Tibetan Community of Australia Football Team.