From the Goal Line

This is a pretty cool idea (and thanks to our city reporter Elizabeth for passing this tid-bit along). This summer the 2010 World Cup will be hosted by South Africa. In light of the huge event a retired player from Norway is using this as the focal point to raise awareness for refugee’s around the world. His idea: create the world’s largest soccer jersey, made up of individual ones sent in from around the world. Bjorn Heidenstrom is biking from Keyna to South Africa gathering shirts and letting people know about what its like to be a refugee. All the shirts will be compiled this month in South Africa and assembled at the World Cup site. Check out the basics below:

Bjorn Heidenstrom, a retired Norwegian soccer player from the club team Vålerenga, is ‘Hitchbiking’ from Kenya to South Africa and creating the world’s largest football shirt on the route as part of raising awareness for the world’s refugees. Heidenstrom, has worked with football as a hub for; marketing, media, values, Soccer Against Crime, and Valerenga against racism. He will make content on his website: www.theshirt2010.net each day on the 10-month journey.

“You can help directly with a football shirt. it maybe an old one or a new one, can be the team you play for, or the team you support. Sign it, just you, or with mates, and send it to “Base Camp”. My crew comes to South Africa in April 2010 and we start making the symbol. We also make a bet; “This symbol (“the shirt 2010″) will get the biggest attention during the World Cup 2010…. You can be a part of it. You can be on the symbol. You can help…by just sending one of your FC shirts.”

His web sites are:
www.theshirt2010.net
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/More-Than-a-Game/112697618741385?ref=ts