Media Releases and News Archives

21 May 2012

SAFCA West opens and hosts the OFC O-League Champions Trophy

SAFCA West officially opened on Sunday the 20th. 50 kids from all over Auckland converged on Liberty Christian Centre in Avondale in inaugurate the new Centre being run under the leadership of SAFCA Director of Coaching, Kim Beale. The tournament comprised a Street Soccer tournament along with a Skills Challenge and Shooting Challenge and special guests included Harry Ngata from Puma and Sky Sport as well as Terry Kenelly, GM of Auckland CIty FC and star strikers Manel Exposito and Emiliano Tade, both of whom will be going to the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan in December along with the likes of Chelsea FC and the best clubs from Africa, Asia and South America. The star of the day was undoubtably the O-League Trophy fresh from the victory by Auckland City in Tahiti.

The day was an unparalleled success and the feedback from kids was that they were keen to sign on for the program to be run on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting in June.

All queries to Kim Beale

23rd April 2012

SAFCA officially moves to new home

Tonight SAFCA moved to it's new home at Hilltop Community Centre in Flat Bush. 20 kids aged from 6 through to 15 enjoyed a session overseen by Head of Football, Matt Jorgensen and assisted by Assistant Coaches Tweela Pasi and Amy Wilson. Several players and parents were asked about their thoughts on the new venue with all giving it a big thumbs up. Moving to Hilltop and being able to train indoors means no more postponements/cancellations due to weather. The Centre is fully ventilated with world class amenities and is an appropriate size to train youth in pelada/futsal/futebol. There is a full commercial kitchen onsite with viewing window right behind the goals so parents can have a coffee or tea and watch the action. There is plenty of parking and it is only a few minutes from Manukau shops. Centre manager, Tony Bracefield was delighted to see the facility finally being used in this fashion as when they had designed it, it was done with this purpose in mind with the Manukau Christian Charitable Trust/Grace Redeemer Church investing in a pair of full size set of professional futsal goals long before a formal partnership came into discussion. Head Coach Matt Jorgensen said "having this facility means that we can better service the youth and junior players looking to really accelerate their skill base in a safe location all year round and the polished concrete surface rally exposes technical deficiencies in a player. If a player can demonstrate strong technical ability on this surface, switching to grass will seem slow and much easier to adapt to."

2nd February 2012

Coach Colin not returning this season

Coach Colin has announced that due to a family decision, both he and Chris will not be returning to coach at SAFCA this year. Colin is a man of great character and integrity and we thoroughly applaud his decision to spend more time with his family. He has served SAFCA faithfully for 2 years. We thank him for his tireless efforts and wonderful work with the kids and wish him all the best for his future endeavours both in football and the community. Both he and Chris will be missed and always welcome to drop in and say hello. 

1st February 2012

A new coach and era beckons

SAFCA is in talks with a new senior Academy coach to join Matt, Mark and Ben for 2012. Although we can't name him just yet, he is a man with national level credentials and a wealth of experience who is passionate about what we do. Watch this space for a forthcoming announcement over the next month

2012 International program released

2012  marks the first year that a full international representative program will commence. New Zealand Christian Football will be trialling players in March for the development program to prepare for the Australian National Titles being run in Brisbane in Sept/Oct. Players will be drawn from across the country and training commences in April upon the announcement of the squads. Groups will be the U16 mens (junior Cross Whites), U18 mens (young Cross Whites), senior ladies (Doves) and senior mens (Cross Whites). It's a wonderful oppportunity to play the best players in Australia outside of the FFA's socceroos/matildas International A program.

3rd January 2012 Challenge Weekly feature on NZCFM