As these pictures show, the famous Football Club blue and white hoops help to further engender a sense of teamwork and collaboration as rugby’s core values provide a springboard to new opportunities for children growing up in developing areas of Vietnam.

Back in September, Club Minis and their parents responded brilliantly and donated 888 items of rugby kit that were sorted (and washed!) then shipped off to Hanoi. A huge thank you to Garry Kemp and our friends at DHL for not only shipping the kit free of charge but for helping untangle the riddle of Vietnamese customs during COVID to ensure that the kit got into the hands of the people who need it most.

Pictured here are girls aged 11-13 from the Kim Boi Club from the local community in Hoa Binh province in northern Vietnam, just outside Hanoi. They train once per week as well as learning life skills through the Pass It Back curriculum and are getting ready for a competition in January!

As part of our new partnership with Laureus, HKFC Minis intend to build a stronger connection with the Childfund Pass it Back programme in Vietnam who support up to 30 teams across 7 community rugby clubs in the province like the Kim Boi Club. We hope to both help out this great cause and to raise awareness and connection with our Minis community.

Through integrated rugby and life skills learning modules, the programme allows children to improve their leadership, life skills and sports skills as well as attitudes and behaviours in a safe and structured way. Playing as part of a team provides young people with access to an expanded support network too.

The knowledge and experience learnt by the local players and coaches are then taken back to their communities where they “pass it back’ to others, enabling wider social impact.

We look forward to providing more updates on progress in Vietnam and other opportunities for the club to get involved throughout the year; for now we’d just like to pass on a big Thank you or “cảm ơn” from Vietnam for your help so far!

Tom Wheeler