Club on struggle street

By Shaun Inguanzo
A NOT-FOR-PROFIT football team which gives poor and mentally ill people a recreational outlet is financially in the red because it is struggling to find sponsorship.
The MIDDWAY Cobras, backed by not-for-profit group Mental Illness Doesn’t Discriminate What About You (MIDDWAY) and under the umbrella of Dandenong-based Eastern Regions Mental Health Association (ERMHA) has lost a swag of veteran players and is struggling to pay its costs.
Cobras president Don Cameron told Star the team needed $7000 this year to break even, which includes $1000 from last season and $6000 for the pending 2007 season’s costs.
The team is fielded from the most disadvantaged and underprivileged people in the cities of Casey and Greater Dandenong, and the participation alone gives them a reason to smile.
“Many players have had difficult times in their lives and the team is a supportive environment as people get back on their feet,” Mr Cameron said.
So successful is the program that last year the Cobras won the B-Grade premiership in the RecLink league, playing against similar teams from across the state.
But this year eight veteran players – who have been members since 2000 – have retired.
To add to the club’s woes, sponsorship is proving difficult to find, largely because the team does not have the resources to promote itself.
Costs the team needs to cover include travel, materials for fundraisers, including barbecues, trophies for all players at the end of the season, and a supporters and sponsors event with the team at the end of the season.
Mr Cameron said anyone, regardless of health or financial status, was welcome to play and that the team often attracted locals wanting to keep fit through football training.
The Cobras train at Reid Oval in Oak Avenue, Doveton, from 5pm on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Anyone aged 16 and up, male or female, is welcome.
Matches are scheduled to begin in May but are subject to change due to dry, drought-stricken playing surfaces.
For more information on playing with or sponsoring the Cobras, phone coach Gary Lambert on 0438 905 067 or president Don Cameron on 0415 888 528.