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Amber Army: Gôl Visit Kutaisi
Amber Army – as seen in Georgia! The Wales football supporters charity Gôl! spent two days visiting Newport’s twin city, Kutaisi in Georgia on their epic trek to Azerbaijan. 26 Wales supporters drove a fleet of old bangers all the way to Baku from Wales to raise money for the children’s charity as Wales played the Azeris in a World Cup Qualifying match. On the way they stopped off at our twin city Kutaisi to give kit and presents donated by the Amber Army and the Newport Kutaisi Twinning Association.The County shirts were donated to schools and children’s homes and the supporters also left their cars to charities in the city. The twinning committee in Kutaisi and the youth section of the local ‘Torpedo’ football team both received cars. Kutaisi has been twinned with Newport for some twenty years. There have been many social, cultural and educational exchanges between the two cities, but the Georgians weren’t sure what to make of a crowd of noisy Wales football fans! During their stay Gôl! joined a football training camp, visited schools and two children’s homes and met English language students at the city’s University. Six boxes of books were taken over to help the students with their English. Harry Potter was the favourite! The supporters met the Mayor of Kutaisi and played a match against a local supporters team. They lost 5 – 1 but blame the famous Georgian hospitality for such a poor showing on the field. Gôl! Trustee Tim Hartley said, “It was great to meet the people of Kutaisi who have a special bond with Newport. The children loved their County and Gôl! kits as well as the books and we all made great friends in the city. We are grateful for the support of the Amber Army and the Twinning Association. Special thanks must go to Rosemary Butler, the local AM, Catherine Philpott and Sylvia Mason who made it all happen. Kutaisi is a magical place and I can’t wait to go back there!”
Catherine Philpott who chaired the Twining Association at the time of the visit (left holding Newport shirt) said, “The imagination of every member of NKTA was immediately captured when it became known of Gol's plans to undertake this amazing trip. An invitation to become associated was a thrill and we were overwhelmed at the thought of 26 Welsh fans descending on Kutaisi! I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for this amazing undertaking, for Gol's generosity and for helping to strengthen, even further, our links with Newport's sister city of Kutaisi.” Gôl! was set up on a visit to the Azeri capital Baku in 2002 and since then the supporters have visited more than twenty countries to offer kit, footballs, toys and sweets as well as making financial donations to good causes. They have raised more than £30,000 and also take underprivileged children to Wales’s home games. The supporters visited good causes in Bratislava, Budapest, Burgas as well as Kutaisi on their way to Azerbaijan. Tim Hartley Read about the Gôl! charity at www.golcymru.org
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