Hi Hary,

Congratulations on becoming the first official Australian referee on the Homeless World Cup contingent.

As we have heard and read, the 2009 Homeless World Cup is in Milan, Italy from 6th-13th September which promises to be a fantastic venue.

May you have a safe and fantastic tournament in Milan.

Kindly send our warmest regards to the referees that officiated at last years event here in Melbourne, Australia especially Danish referee Kim Milton Nielsen, Gerhard Holzmann & Reinhard Raminger  from Austria, Iain McGill  from Scotland, Niall Waters-Fuller from England, Nkosinathi’ Shoes’ Mahono  from South Africa and Ssekabira Ntege Abudu  from Uganda.

P.S. Wish I was there too!!!

Take care and have a great trip.

Warmest regards,

Ivan John Galjar

Hary - Congratulations on being entrusted with the opening game of the 2009 HWC - Ghana v Italy must have been an incredibly exciting match in which to be involved!  Great to see the Street Socceroos got off to a winning start against Canada - having just returned from Canada, I know homelessness is a huge issue there and the HWC is a fantastic forum to highlight, combat and reduce this social problem. Your description of the Japan v Sth Africa game really reminded us all what the HWC is about and brought my wonderful memories from the 2008 HWC flowing back - that game, Japan's goal and the aftermath must have been a truly unforgettable experience! Keep flying the Aussie flag and have a great time.

I've just read the article in Goal Magazine re Hary's "inspirational talk" to the Street Socceroos prior to their HWC match with Argentina.   International referee, business mogul, Website giant, defacto journalist and now motivational speaker...is there nothing this man cannot do???

Brush his hair...:tongue:

OUCH - that hurts!