India meet Mr Thomson
Posted on 03/08/2007
Friday morning the Indian team met their sponsor, Thomson Financial, who flew the team to the Copenhagen 2007 Homeless World Cup. The fundament was soccer, but it developed into a touching meeting between two cultures.
Boline Skovly
Five members of the Homeless World Cup Indian team took their seats in the Media Centre. They were here to meet representatives from their sponsor, Thomson Financial, who made it possible for the Indian team to participate in this year’s Homeless World Cup. The India team’s manager, Virsen Stephen Barse, spoke out with a thank you from the heart.
“We are so very thankful. My players cannot believe, that they are here,” he says in a loud and firm voice. Barse is a 62-year-old professor who has organized what he calls ‘slum-soccer’ on a local level since 2001. He speaks passionately about how the tournament has and will change the player’s lives, and points out just how important financial support is to their success.
“They are not just from India, they are also from the slum,” he says and continues in more general terms, “Only sports can change their social life.”
The five Thomson representatives all seem overwhelmed with Barse’s words.
India were very keen to find out just who is this Mr. Thomson who has made our dreamland a reality?: "We are so happy, we want to thank you. We also want to thank Mr. Thomson. Who is this Mr. Thomson?” They ask.
The Thomson Financial employees, working in a company of over 40,000 employees love this. "It brings everything right into perspective!" They say.
The players and Mr Thomsons negotiate topics as politics, India’s new female president, religion, Tivoli (Danish amusement park), soccer versus cricket and Ronaldinho.
