By Jonty Ralphsmith
Pakenham United presented Chris Gomez got to rub shoulders with the Matildas, volunteering at the World Cup as an airport transfer officer.
Gomez, who does everything at Pakenham, from setting up goals, grocery shopping and lending a friendly ear, got to meet the Jamaican, Australian, Canadian and Brazilian teams as part of his role.
“One minute you watch them on TV, and then you’re walking through the airport with them having a general chat,” Gomez said.
“It’s surreal to see how normal they are.
“After each shift we got little souvenir gifts to make it worthwhile.
“I got to have a chat to Ellie Carpenter – I told her I was from England and we chatted about Derby County, she knew a lot about my team back in England so it’s good to see these are proper football people.”
Gomez has been fielding non-stop calls during the World Cup from people wanting to play soccer following Australia’s run to the semi-final.
After having to turn away hundreds of players this year due to insufficient coaching numbers, welcoming mentors in the door is a priority for Pakenham.
The club will be running a girls spring training program for people over the age of five-years-old, free of charge, to try to capitalise on the sport’s momentum. There will also be a ladies program.
From there, those who want to play will be able to.
“We let anybody play, it doesn’t matter your skill – we’re always going to help and work with you,” Gomez said.
“We encourage everyone to keep practising and playing.
“I always say to the coaches, the most important thing is to have a smile on their face, because that will be reflected in the players.
“The most important thing is to have fun.”
