Thanks to all the participants in the South Cup, loyal sponsors and a song-happy former tournament leader, we were once again able to donate a solid amount of money to the Mission Alliance and their project Sport Crosses Borders in 2023.
Since its inception in 2008, Sør Cup has collaborated with Mission Alliance on the project Sport Crosses Borders, formerly known as Football Crosses Borders. This work is currently being carried out in Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil and Cambodia. Over the years, Sør Cup has raised several million kroner for the projects.
In 2023, we raised NOK 328,000 for the project!
– We are very grateful and impressed by the efforts made every year by volunteers and everyone else involved in Sør Cup. Their efforts protect children from violence and abuse. Thank you very much,” says Heidi Sandvand Hegertun, Secretary General of Mission Alliance.
Sport Crosses Borders has grown as a large and incredibly important project for the communities in which Mission Alliance operates.
– For many of the children and young people we meet, it’s common to know someone who has ended up in gangs where they end up being shot or wounded. While they themselves stay in leisure activities with safe adults and their friends. This is how our work saves and transforms lives,” says Sandvand Hegertun.
25 kroner per participant
All the participants in the South Cup, which had a record number of 614 teams in 2023, are the biggest contributors.
Sør Cup donates NOK 25 per participant to the project, in addition to all ticket revenues from the final day and all pledges from the tournament (that’s a lot!).
In addition, the companies Mosvold & Co, Mesel Invest, Coca-Cola and Gumpens Auto Vest are contributing money, and former Sør Cup tournament leader Paul Richardsen held a concert where the proceeds went to this project.
Sør Cup has visited the projects in Ecuador several times, but this has not been possible due to the coronavirus. In recent years, children and young people in Ecuador have been caught up in a conflict between criminal gangs and the police, making it unsafe to visit Guayaquil, where Idrett Krysser Grenser has its projects.
The Mission Alliance says that the projects have played an even greater role for children who now live in insecurity, by offering healthy activities and safe social meeting places.
– It’s nice – and important – to be able to contribute to this work,” says Ole Gerhard Sørensen, General Manager of Sør Cup.
– The project has been an important part of the cup for all years, and many volunteers have gained a strong ownership of the project. For us as an organization, it adds another dimension to the cup, and now it’s more important than ever to contribute, as both the pandemic and unrest due to rival drug cartels characterize the country,” says Sørensen.
Due to the increased unrest in Ecuador, the planned trip with the South Cup delegation, which usually consists of at least one representative from each of the organizing clubs, was canceled this fall.
– “We hope to be able to visit Ecuador or one of the other countries where Idrett Krysser Grenser has projects during 2024. It’s important to get that proximity to the projects and previous trips have provided both inspiration and new perspectives on life for those who have traveled,” says Sørensen.