“CATCH THEM YOUNG”

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 31, 29 April 1927, Page 1

“CATCH THEM YOUNG”

SOCCER FOR THE BOYS FUTURE SUPPLY OF PLAYERS (From Our Resident Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Thursday. “Catch them young” is the motto which Sir Charles Statham would apply to those fostering the Soccer game in New Zealand. While speaking before the annual meeting of the New Zealand Football Association today he quoted the utterance of the Duke of Y'ork, who said that if we look after the children the country will look after itself. Sir Charles applied this to Soccer, and said that if the governors of Association in the Dominion looked after the youngsters and caught them when they were young the game would ultimately look after itself. By bringing the boys into the game the code would be assured of a good supply of players and its prosperity would also be assured. At a later stage in the meeting Sir Charles expressed himself upon the subject of sport generally, and declared that it was the duty of every public man to do his utmost to foster sport throughout the whole country. He had observed with gratification the splendid attitude of friendship which the Association code held toward other sports. “At the present time,” he said, "we have a more or less higher civilisation with any amount of luxuries, and unless we have sport for the young there is no indication as to where we will finish. It has been said that the Battle of Waterloo was won on the football fields of Eton, and I think it can be said with equal accuracy that the football fields of Xew Zealand had a great deal to do with making the soldiers we had in the great war.”