SOCCER Botanical Gardens will come alive with goals, cheers and a sea of young talent this Sunday as Forbes hosts its biggest-ever junior soccer gala day. A whopping 100 teams are registered for the event, Forbes Soccer's Doug Mckenzie said. There'll be about 1500 players and officials coming in for the event, plus their families. From kick-off at 7.30am to the final whistle at 4.30pm, there will be 200 matches across 12 fields. "It's the biggest yet," Mckenzie said, adding it's a huge economic injection for the town. Special guest Tom Sermanni, himself a professional player and former Matildas head coach, is returning to Forbes for the big event. Teams competing Sunday are aged from under 8s to under 16s, teams travelling from as far afield as Leeton, Goulburn, Griffith, Young, Cootamundra, Dubbo, Bathurst and Orange. Of course that requires a big lift from officials too - there will be 24 referees with locals to be supported by colleagues from Sydney, Dubbo and Wagga Wagga. Forbes will field teams in the under 8s, 9s, 10s, 12s and under 13 boys teams, under 10s and under 14s girls. For these young stars, the gala day represents a development opportunity and maybe even the first step onto a representative pathway. More than 360 juniors play soccer in Forbes every Saturday, the gala day is an opportunity to level up and play against the best juniors from other regions. Those who join the local football academy open the door to more gala days, western youth league and representative opportunities as they get older. Doug's daughter Josie played with Forbes Under 8s at local gala days just a few short years ago, now she's 16 and playing for the Canberra Croatia women's team in the National Premier League capital football.
