Members of the Austbrokers and IBNA broker cluster groups staged their own version of the soccer World Cup in South Africa last week.

Meeting in Cape Town for the annual Austbrokers & IBNA Member Services (AIMS) conference, delegates took time out to interact with local children at the city fringe township of Langa.

The concept of staging a “world cup” just before the actual cup competition begins in South Africa on May 28 was promoted by Zurich Australia National Broker Manager Keith Till.

Delegates and their partners were allocated to teams named after the countries playing in the real tournament, while three township children per team provided the necessary football skills.

Kitted out in appropriate national team shirts, the teams played a knockout tournament on quarter-size pitches with five-minute halves. A stand-by ambulance wasn’t needed.

The final was fought out between Ghana and New Zealand, with the “Ghanaians” triumphing.

NZ team captain and new Zurich Australia GM General Insurance Shane Doyle says the competition brought together “two groups of very disparate cultures and ages in the most wonderful way. Everybody had a great time. The kids were terrific.”

Zurich presented each of the township children – who normally play football barefoot – with a backpack containing soccer balls, pumps, shin pads and boots. The company also made a cash donation to the children’s club.