Poppy Risdale’s international friendship leads to young Hungerford Crusaders tour in Hemsbach, Germany
AN eight-year-old girl’s international friendship with a German boy led to an intercontinental football match - and wonderful memories to last a lifetime.
It all began when Poppy Risdale, a player for Hungerford Town Junior Football Club Under 10s Crusaders, befriended Vincent Wind from Hemsbach, Germany, during a family holiday in Rhodes.
Each morning Poppy’s father, Crusaders youth coach Christopher Risdale, and his brother arranged football games on the hotel football pitch for their own children, which then attracted children of different nationalities.
It was during these football sessions that Poppy and Vincent became friends, unable to converse but united by their love of the game.
In the summer that followed, Poppy and her family were warmly welcomed by Vincent’s family in Hemsbach during a European camping holiday.
It was during that short visit that the idea was hatched to take fourteen eight to 10-year-old Hungerford junior team players to Hemsbach to tour the local area.
Mr Risdale, a teacher at Kennet School in Thatcham, began fundraising with friends and family and Kennet School headteacher Grace Rigg donated the use of two minibuses.
Finally, the dream trip became a reality.
Poppy’s grandmother Angela Cooper said: “The welcome from Hemsbach was amazing - they were all such generous hosts.”
Daily morning football training was followed in the afternoons by foot golf, tobogganing in the nearby forest, swimming in the lake or playing in the local park.
The final day of the tour brought the long-awaited contest between Hungerford Town and FC Hemsbach and the fixture was split into three, 20 minute games.
It was finely balanced at 1-1 going into the third and final game, with FC Hemsbach pipping Hungerford to the post and coming out 2-1 victors.
One of the biggest cheers of the day was when Poppy scored the final goal to win one of the games.
The tour ended with parents from FC Hemsbach and Hungerford competing against the children from both sides.
During a farewell presentation Mr Risdale thanked the children and parents from Hemsbach who had welcomed them all into their community with open arms and shown “such incredible kindness and generosity”.
Mrs Cooper said afterwards: “Friendships were forged and lives changed in ways that only time will tell.”
The organisers expressed thanks to businesses, organisations and individual donors who made the event possible including The Herongate Club, Kerridge Commerical Systems, Berkshire Labels, Doves Farm Food, Newbury Building Society and the Hungerford Rotary Club.
