Antwerp (Eurotoday) – City Pirates in Merksem, Antwerp, Belgium, offers fun football sessions for kids (6-12) on Wednesdays. Over 4,000 kids are on the waiting list. Linda Rusbach and Paul Baetens say more fields, facilities, and volunteers are needed.
Every Wednesday afternoon, kids between 6 and 12 can play football at City Pirates in Merksem, Antwerp, Belgium. They get an hour and a half to just have fun kicking the ball around. Officials said that it’s not like a regular team where they play games or practice. It’s just for fun.
They mentioned that if people want to join, they have to go to Merksem. All the spots at City Pirates in Linkeroever and Deurne are already filled up. Lots of kids want to play football at City Pirates.
Why are 4,000 kids waiting to join City Pirates Antwerp?
Over 4,000 kids are waiting to join City Pirates in Antwerp. More kids want to join every year. Linda Rusbach, who works at City Pirates, says kids don’t want to leave once they join. City Pirates is a good club where everyone gets along. Kids love playing football there. She mentioned that it’s hard for kids to give up their spots. Some families have to wait a long time to get a spot. They might never get one.
City Pirates also helps kids in Antwerp who don’t have much money. They get help with school and finding jobs. The club wants kids to feel welcome. If they don’t have a place to go, they can come to the stadium and get help. Arno plays football at City Pirates on Wednesdays. He just wants to have fun with his friends. He’s been on the waiting list for a long time to play on a real team.
**“Here in Merksem, for example, we have too few changing rooms,”**
Says Linda Rusbach.
**“In addition, there are far too few football fields. Due to the combination with the difficult search for volunteers, we unfortunately have to put more and more children on the waiting list.”**
Iryna is 17 years old. She helps train kids at City Pirates every Wednesday. She likes helping kids who have been waiting a long time to play football. She wants them to have fun. She mentioned that the kids can play in these sessions even if they haven’t gotten a spot on a real team. But some kids want to play at City Pirates. There aren’t enough trainers to help them all.
According to Iryna, sometimes there are too many kids for the trainers to handle. They need more help. The trainers who are there love helping kids, but they need more people. It’s hard to give each kid enough attention when there aren’t enough trainers.
Paul Baetens is the coordinator. He says they need more volunteers. But it’s hard to find people who can come to the club three or four times a week for 10 months. They need people who will be there all the time.
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