Pararoos Head Coach Kai Lammert has finalised his squad to compete at next month’s IFCPF World Cup in Seville, Spain, including local Northern NSW Football (NNSWF) players Ben Roche, who plays at Suffolk Park FC in Football Far North Coast (FFNC) and Daniel Campbell who represents North Coast Football (NCF) in the National Premier Leagues (NPL) Northern NSW Youth competitions.
NNSWF Board Members, Staff Executives and Zone Member Managers had the privilege of hearing from the two players as they discussed their inspiring, courageous stories at an event in Coffs Harbour over the weekend where NNSWF, FFNC and NCF presented Ben and Daniel respectively with donations to assist them to meet expenses preparing to represent their country.
NNSWF encourages all members of the local football community to get behind our Pararoos Ben and Daniel through making any possible donations for their travel at their ASF page: https://asf.org.au/donate/pararoos-road-to-2019-world-cup/ before 30th June.
Players also have individual fundraising pages; Ben – https://asf.org.au/donate/benny-roche/; Daniel – https://asf.org.au/donate/daniel-campbell-paralympic-football-world-cup-2019/.
The fourteen players selected will venture to Europe on Saturday, 29 June 2019, with the Pararoos’ first stop being Oberhaching near Munich where the team will play two international friendlies against Germany’s National CP (Cerebral Palsy) football team.
Daniel Campbell
While in Bavaria, Lammert’s squad will set up shop at Sportschule Oberhaching, a modern college of physical education that was built in 1994 and features a range of elite outdoor and indoor facilities.
The Pararoos will play Germany on Monday 1 and Tuesday 2 July, before venturing to Spain where they will take on Ukraine, Argentina, and Spain in Group C of the tournament.
Australia’s Pararoos have displayed steady improvement on the international scene in recent years, having finished 13th in the world in 2013, 12th in 2015, and 10th in 2017.
Lammert has belief that his boys can finish in the top ten at the forthcoming IFCPF World Cup despite being drawn in a tough pool for the competition.
“Our preparation for this year’s IFCPF World Cup has been thorough with the team having had three camps at Football New South Wales’ headquarters in Glenwood in the build up to the tournament,” Lammert said.
Ben Roche
“The time that we will have in Oberhaching will help us fine tune our plans leading up to the tournament, and the games that we will play against Germany, who are also bound for the World Cup, will offer fantastic preparation.
“The 14 players that have been selected for this year’s World Cup have all overcome obstacles in their lives to earn selection in this squad, so it is a special moment for all of the boys that have been picked and they are ready to represent Australia with passion and pride,” he said.
The 2019 IFCPF World Cup will be held between 4-20 July 2019, with the Pararoos set to play their opening match against Ukraine on Sunday, 7 July.
Pararoos Squad | 4-20 July 2019 | 2019 IFCPF World Cup | Seville, Spain
| Name (City, State) | International Caps (Goals) |
| Ben ATKINS (Sydney, NSW) | 62 (4) |
| David BARBER (Rockhampton, QLD) | 89 (69) |
| Connor BUNCE (Torbay, WA) | 0 (0) |
| Daniel CAMPBELL (Coffs Harbour, NSW) | 6 (2) |
| Cosimo CIRILLO (Mildura, VIC) | 4 (1) |
| Matthew HEARNE (Melbourne, VIC) | 14 (0) |
| Alessandro LA VERGHETTA (Perth, WA) | 5 (1) |
| Taj LYNCH (Sydney, NSW) | 6 (1) |
| Angus MACGREGOR (Melbourne, VIC) | 6 (1) |
| Augustine MURPHY (Sydney, NSW) | 5 (0) |
| Christopher PYNE (Springwood, NSW) | 95 (20) |
| Benjamin ROCHE (Lennox Head, NSW) | 44 (24) |
| Bradley SCOTT (Bunbury, WA) | 3 (1) |
| Benjamin SUTTON (Sydney, NSW) | 4 (0) |
Upcoming Matches:
Germany v Australia – International Friendly
Date: Monday, 1 July 2019
Location: Munich, Germany
Kick-off: 7.00pm (local); 3.00am – Tuesday, 2 July 2019 (AEST)
Germany v Australia – International Friendly
Date: Tuesday, 2 July 2019
Location: Munich, Germany
Kick-off: 7.00pm (local); 3.00am – Wednesday, 3 July 2019 (AEST)
Ukraine v Australia – 2019 IFCPF World Cup
Date: Sunday, 7 July 2019
Location: Seville, Spain
Kick-off: 9.00am (local); 5.00pm (AEST)
Australia v Argentina – 2019 IFCPF World Cup
Date: Tuesday, 9 July 2019
Location: Seville, Spain
Kick-off: 9.00pm (local); 5.00am – Wednesday, 10 July 2019 (AEST)
Australia v Spain – 2019 IFCPF World Cup
Date: Thursday, 11 July 2019
Location: Seville, Spain
Kick-off: 11.00am (local); 7.00pm (AEST)
