After a magical 2012 winter and summer season the Yorkton United Football Club's U-16 girls wrapped up their year with a charity match to support the Canadian Cancer Society against a team made up of YUFC women's alumni.
Like the popular testimonial matches put on by European clubs to commemorate special players, teams, or matches with the proceeds going to charity the undefeated U-16 side raised money with a bottle/pledge drive as well as a collection at the match where in total they raised over $2000 for the Cancer Society.
The game itself saw the U-16 girls continue their unbeaten streak in the friendly with a 4-1 win over the YUFC alumni led by Rita Fetsch who controlled the game up top for the YUFC U-16's as well as providing goal scoring and exhibiting excellent ball control throughout the match. The game went into halftime with a 2-1 score and the YUFC alumni provided entertaining opposition despite having the obvious disadvantage of not training as a team.
The idea for the game came from manager Alfie Bermeduez who after the season wanted to wrap up the girls season in a special way. Bermeduez said, "The idea to commemorate the team came to me as I wanted this team to be remembered as much as the soccer community would and I first planned to organize a game against another team in the province, but then the alumni and U-18 girls wanted to be a part of it so that is how it came about." explained Alfie. Bermeduez was happy with how the event turned out and the money they raised for cancer research and says he wants to make the event a yearly happening as he notices that events of this kind are almost non-existent in Canada and hopes to start a trend. Bermeduez also mentioned that he may try to arrange a match against another Saskatchewan side next year, instead of going the alumni route but plans are obviously still in the beginning stage. The Canadian Cancer Society and Sherring Gold Jewellery were thanked for their participation in making the event a reality as well as the players and parents.
