Football in the Bulgarian community

You can help us by donating cash, equipment and showing us your support.

Darren and Bulgarian friends Dencho and Velichka started the football training in May 2007 and the football team was a natural next step for them.  The team actually started in September 2008 and consists of some of the older lads who originally came to the training sessions from the start.  It is the first time in 35 years that Krumovo have a team in the league apparently.  They are a very young and inexperienced side; however with a few seasons under their boots we believe they will be fantastic.  If you are able to support our team FC Gagarin of Krumovo we would be very grateful.

If you have a football club near you please ask them if they can help. If you are already involved in football maybe your club can donate their old kit and/or players can donate their old boots.  We have already had over 70 pairs of football boots, 40 pairs of shin pads, 6 full kits including socks, and footballs.  But we need more as the group is growing so whatever you can donate please get in touch as it will be put to good use.

If you want to send us cash please contact me for how you can do this, we have had cash donated to transport a caravan which has also been donated for FC Gagarin's changing rooms.  We have had cash for petrol costs and registration fees, plus sponsorship to enable us to pay the referee, linesmen and doctor who have to be present at every home match, this costs the club between 150 to 200 bgn (around £83) every home game!

Thanks to David and Andrea who contacted Derrick at KitAid on our behalf, we have been lucky to have been promised tons of kit, and a cash donation.

This will enable us to expand the football in 2009, reaching other children who don't get the chance to play the wonderful game.

If you would like to donate your old kit please contact KitAid.

KitAid is a charity that sends unwanted football kit to children and adults across Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.

It started in 1998 when Derrick Williams, Three Valleys Water employee, visited Tanzania with the charity WaterAid. Derrick, who is passionate about football, realised that the young children in villages in Tanzania shared the same love of football.

When he returned home, Derrick spoke to work colleagues and friends and shortly afterwards the first box of donated football kit was on its way to the children he'd met in Tanzania.

The willingness of people around him, led Derrick on to set up KitAid and the appeal has grown year on year with a total of around 10,000 children receiving shirts, kit and footballs in Tanzania, Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Eastern Europe.

If you would like to find out more about some of the campaigns, click on the links below or if you have any item of unwanted kit to donate, all donations will be greatly appreciated.

KitAid can guarantee that your donation will bring a smile to a child's face and it will be valued for many years to come.

 KitAid 2008 report

We would like to thank Derrick at KitAid, for everything he has done for us already.

We have decided to contact some businesses in Yambol and also some bigger firms nationwide and in the Uk via a letter.  Here is the letter in English and Bulgarian, and we will be hand delievering most of them in the coming week.

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please allow me to introduce ourselves, we are Nikki and Darren Weeks and we live in the village of General Inzovo, Yambol.  We set up home in Bulgaria from the UK just 2 years ago this December.

We would like to let you know what we are doing in Yambol right now, and the reason for this, is because we are hoping you will want to get involved as it will be benefit not only ourselves, and your company, but also your future clients the children of Yambol.

We started a football training club in May 2007 in the village of Krumovo as first of all there are lots of children there and secondly they all want to have the chance to play football.  Starting off with only 15 children, that group has now grown to 55 children and youths, 23 of which are aged 6 – 12 years including 9 girls.

Due to the club becoming a success, it was only natural that the village would want a football team entered into the Yambol league.  So this year in September the club FC Gagarin was formed, the first football club in the league for we are told 35 years.  The lads in the team are inexperienced and young and so far are learning as apposed to winning, but we are confident a win is very close.

The reason we are contacting you, is quite simply because we need your help of course.

Our long term plans are to teach the children English, and help some of them to obtain their football coaching certificate so that a) they can help run the club and b) they can have a fantastic career in football for the future.

Of course we ourselves need to earn a living here, as we are not as yet, this is all done on a purely voluntary basis, but as it has grown so popular so soon, we want to make something big here in Yambol.

We want to bring football to the villages and working with the municipality and the local mayors, we want to get the old pitches we see in the villages up and running again.

To enable us to do this we need funding.  Yes we need your help!  In return for this we offer an advert on our website for your company.  We cannot offer more at this time, but it’s a start. 

Your company will also look good to the community here in supporting this cause.

This is what we need, and we ask that no matter how little you can offer us, it will all help so please don’t be shy in your offer. 

A minibus

A clubhouse

Mobile lighting for outside pitches

Equipment such as footballs, kit and goal nets

Money for funding the everyday running of the club including to send our lads on UEFA or FIFA coaching courses

Funding for Gifts for a prize draw at a Christmas party we are having for all the kids this year, and the team from Takuv i Zhivotut will be filming for the end to the current series which we have featured in with the club in the first series.

We are contacting many businesses in the Yambol area, and some larger companies nationwide and also companies from the UK.  It would be beneficial to have local support from you so we hope that you will do so.

We already have a sponsor, My Bulgaria which is an English based forum about Bulgaria.  But this sponsor is literally only for the seasons fees involved in FC Gagarin’s matches this year, so we need a big sponsor please!

If you wish to discuss offers with us please contact Nikki and Darren on 0885328358 (English speaking only) or Bulgarian Real Estate Online 046 665 612 who will be happy to assist.

Many thanks for yout time

Nikki and Darren Weeks

and the Bulgarian version, kindly translated by Evgeni at Bulgarian Real Estate Online

  Драги Господине или Госпожо,

  Моля позволете ни да се представим, ние сме Ники и Дарън Уийкс и живеем в с.Генерал Инзово, община Ямбол. Дойдохме от Великобритания и се заселихме в България перманентно преди две години.

  Бихме желали да ви запознаем с какво точно се занимаваме сега и причината за това е, че се надяваме да поискате да вземете участие, тъй като това ще бъде от полза не само за нас самите, и вашата компания, а така също и за вашите бъдещи клиенти децата на Ямбол.

   Сформирахме футболен тренировъчен клуб през май 2007 в с.Крумово тъй като децата там са много и всички те искат да имат шанса да играят футбол. Започнахме едва с 15 деца, като сега групата нарасна до 55 деца и младежи, 23 от които са на възраст между 6 и 12 години, включително 9 момичета.

   Тъй като клубът се развива успешно, съвсем естествено е футболния отбор да иска да влезе в Ямболския спортен клуб. Така че през Септември тази година беше сформиран ФК „Гагарин”, първият футболен клуб в лигата от 35 години насам (както бяхме информирани). Момчетата в отбора са неопитни и млади и все още се учат как да побеждават, но ние сме уверени, че победата е съвсем близо.

  Причината да се свържем с вас е, че накратко се нуждаем от вашата помощ.

  Нашите дългосрочни планове са да преподаваме английски на децата и да помогнем на някои от тях да получат футболен треньорски сертификат, за да :

      А)могат да помагат да се ръководи клуба;

      Б)могат да направят прекрасна кариера във футбола за в бъдеще.

   Поради големия брой деца и младежи в този регион, бихме могли да направим нещо голямо тук в Ямбол. Разбира се всичко това отнема време и средства, а до този момент ние работим на доброволни начала. За да може това да стане една реална възможност, ние трябва да получаваме заплати.

    Искаме да популяризираме футбола по селата и работейки заедно с общината и местните кметове, бихме искали да съживим старите селски игрища и да ги направим работещи.

   За да успеем да направим всичко това, се нуждаем от финансиране. Да, нуждаем се от вашата помощ! В отговор на това ние предлагаме да рекламираме вашата компания в нашия уебсайт. За съжаление не можем да предложим повече в този момент, но пък е някакво начало. Освен това обществото ще гледа с друго око на вашата компания, подкрепяща тази благородна кауза.

   Това е, от което се нуждаем и което искаме от вас, без значение колко малко можете да ни предложите, всичко може да помогне, така че моля ви не бъдете стеснителни в предложенията си.

  Минибус, клубно помещение, подвижно осветление за външни игрища, футболна екипировка, футболни мрежи, пари за финансиране на ежедневната работа на клуба, включително изпращане на нашите момчета на УЕФА или ФИФА тренировъчни курсове, финансиране за коледни подаръци на коледното парти, което организираме за децата тази година и което ще бъде филмирано от екипа на „Такъв е животът” по BTV, където се появяваме не за пръв път.

  Ще се свържем с много компании в Ямболска област, както и някои по-големи такива на територията на страната и чужбина. Ще бъде полезно да имаме подкрепа от вас на местно ниво, така че се надяваме да ни помогнете.

   Ние вече имаме един спонсор, „My Bulgaria”, който е английски форум където се водят дискусии относно България. Но този спонсор е буквално само за сезонните такси за мачовете на ФК „Гагарин” тази година, така че се нуждаем от голям спонсор!

  Ако искате да обсъдите предложенията си с нас, моля свържете се с Ники и Дарън на тел. 0885328358 (англо-говорящи) или Bulgarian Real Estate Online на тел. които ще бъдат щастливи да ви съдействат.

   Благодарим Ви за отнетото време  

   Ники и Дарън Уийкс