The charity soccer game that took Perth’s hospitality scene by storm last year is coming back for 2025, bigger and better than before.
The six-a-side tournament, named the Charity Soccer Festival, has been organised for 2 November by Obi Coffee and Slow Daze Co-Founders Jamie Wolf and Courtis ‘CJ’ Lovell and will mark one of the first major activations by their latest project, Healthy Hospo.
Jamie says the new mental health and wellbeing program was borne out of he and CJ’s association with charity Healthy Mind Menu.
“I’m an ambassador for Healthy Mind Menu, a Western Australian charity that focuses on metal health and wellbeing in the hospitality industry,” says Jamie.
“Once I became and ambassador, my business partner CJ and I asked ourselves how we could push this ethos and healthy hospitality mantra to a wider audience.
“We started with talking to our teams, and we looked at how we could build a passion project where we could incorporate things we love into this message around mental health and wellbeing in our industry.”
Last year’s charity game at Perth Soccer Club was organised in just a couple of months and featured men’s and women’s fixtures with more than 60 players taking part.
After the local hospitality community rallied around the event in force, Jamie says a major goal has been to make it more inclusive to allow more people to take part in this second iteration.
“CJ and I are both active members of the soccer community. We hosted last year’s event at the club we played for, and it was all organised about eight weeks. The hospitality community really rallied around it. There were friends and friends of friends there, and through word of mouth it became a really cool event,” he says.
“This time we’ve done it bigger and with a bit more planning. Smaller pitches means more people can play, and they’re not expected to be a professional footballer or run for 90 minutes.
“All the teams will be mixed and it will be like a big carnival of hospitality and football with a huge focus on mental health. We’re also going to have a celebrity coach for each team – some from Perth Glory and other football people from around Australia mentoring and guiding everyone on how to play.”
Within this hospitality carnival there will be an important message shining a light on issues that impact people throughout the hospitality industry.
“People can be reluctant to get help, especially in the hospitality industry. I was one of them,” says Jamie. “Through these activations and events, we can send messages while we’re having a good time. These conversations are key, as well as building a stronger community where people go in, have a great experience, and unknowingly realise this is something within themselves they need to place more of a focus.
“There needs to be more transparency between owners and staff on how career pathways can be created in hospitality, being open to helping people step up into their own establishments one day, supporting people, making sure the spaces are healthy rather than temporary, and opening doors for people.
“Since I started, the industry has softened a lot and people do take mental health on board a lot more, but there are still a lot of operators that don’t put enough emphasis on it.”
For more information about Healthy Hospo’s Charity Soccer Festival, click here. Visit the Healthy Mind Menu website for more information.
