| A real community champion |
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| Monday, 24 March 2008 | |
 SINCE it was established in 1997, Sport Against Racism Ireland (SARI) has done tremendous work in helping people from various countries and cultures that live in Dublin to integrate and socialise through football.East Europeans, Africans, Asians and South Americans have all come together to compete in the various soccer leagues set up by SARI in its bid to promote cultural integration and social inclusion through sport. The SARI leagues and intercultural events have grown in popularity each year, with former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr helping to promote the initiative. However, the continued success and growth of SARI would not be possible without the tireless work of those behind the scenes, who keep the organisation of its leagues running smoothly. Ovidiu Matuit, a Romanian who moved to Dublin in 2000, is one such SARI volunteer who recently received the honour of being named the Republic of Ireland's Community Champion at a major conference in Belfast. It was just reward for Ovidiu, who, since arriving in Ireland, has been involved in various volunteer groups dealing with cultural integration. Having a great love for football, it was natural that Ovidiu, from Transylvania, would become attracted to SARI. He has evolved from initially registering a team into its summer football festival to now running the organisation's major Winter Futsal League. Speaking to Dublin People Sport, Ovidiu, who lives in Rathmines, revealed the importance that SARI has played in his life since coming to Ireland. "The work of SARI is extremely important as it gives people from all different cultures and backgrounds the opportunity to meet and integrate," Ovidiu said. "It gives everyone great confidence and some days you can see people from Moldova helping and giving advice to those from Brazil and on other days it would be the other way around. "Many of the friends I have made since coming to Ireland have been through SARI, as you transfer what you take from the football pitch outside into your normal life, so there is no doubt it plays a big part in people's lives.” Ovidiu's involvement with SARI has also helped to spawn the integration of fellow immigrants into the mainstream social and sporting scene in Ireland. The team which he first helped to set up for SARI's football festival, named 'Dracula' - in reference to the fact that all of its players come from Transylvania - has developed to the stage that it now competes in the Leinster Senior League (LSL) under the new name of FC Transylvania. The team has proven so successful that FC Transylvania has already moved from the lowest division in the Sunday leagues up to Major Division 1, the second highest division. "The team made a great start to this season, winning their first four or five games but at the moment they lie about fourth place in the league," Ovidiu said. "But it is great that the team has done so well in a competition like the LSL, considering it just started out to compete in the SARI summer festival." As he keeps an eye on Transylvania's progress in the LSL, Ovidiu is also kept busy each Sunday from October to March running SARI's Futsal League in the Tallaght Leisure Centre. Like the summer football festival, the Futsal League has grown in popularity and this year it had 48 male and six female teams competing, including a visually impaired Irish team. "My work with the Futsal League means I am in the leisure centre in Tallaght for five or six hours each Sunday making sure everything is set up properly so the games can go ahead," Ovidiu stated. "The Futsal League is proving to be very successful and SARI now has a team competing in the FAI's own interclub Futsal League.” While he was delighted with the honour of being named Community Champion, modest Ovidiu said the award was recognition for the brilliant work done by everyone involved with SARI. "This is not just about me; there are so many people who do a great job for SARI and they all equally deserve to be named a Community Champion," he added. *Last Sunday week (March 16), St Pat’s SARI defeated Bohs 3-1 after extra time in the final of the Futsal League in the NBA and will now go forward to represent Ireland in the European Championships. |
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Developed by Kevin Flynn