New Zealand Police is sponsoring a new national football festival as a way of enhancing relationships with different communities.

The inaugural New Zealand Communities Football Cup event will be held on 29 and 30 November at Rongotai College in Wellington.

It will feature winning teams from regional ethnic football festivals in Auckland, Hamilton, Napier, Wellington, Upper Hutt, Nelson and Christchurch. These include Somali, Bavarian, Italian and Polish teams.

Regional ethnic football events have been held by local city councils and/or local ethnic organisations for some years – the first one in Hamilton in 2002, according to organiser Kefeng Chu, Police ethnic strategic advisor.

Kefeng Chu with a festival poster. Photo: Anna Woolnough

“Many local police have supported these events as a way to actively engage with diverse ethnic communities – it is also an opportunity to promote police as a career choice and provide safety information.”

Kefeng promises this year’s festival will be fun for families, with police dogs, exhibition matches, a Blue Light sausage sizzle and other activities and entertainment.

Police and government agencies will hold information stands on such topics as housing, education, community safety, police recruitment, human rights and settlement.

Wellington City Council co-hosts (with police) this year’s festival, with support from the Wellington Phoenix team.

More information can be found at www.nzcfc.org.nz