Estrella Solitaria from Chile will blaze a trail never before trodden by representatives from that continent as one of the star attractions in the boy’s under-18 Cup section of the cup, which attracts entrants from all around Australia and beyond.

The idea to bring a team from Chile all the way to Australia was the brainchild of ACT Honorary Ambassador to Chile Victor Marillanca in association with Cooma Tigers Premier League Head Coach Gaby Wilk.

Marillanca and Wilk visited Estrella Solitaria’s stadium after being invited to attend a local football competition where the duo spent a day watching several matches from U10 to U18 with Wilk also using the trip to potentially recruit for the Tigers Premier League title charge.

After speaking to the juniors about Australia, Canberra and the Kanga Cup fundraising initiatives were put in place in order to make their dream come true.

“Estrella Solitaria carried out numerous activities to collect funds to allow them to participate at the Kanga Cup, soon after Gaby and myself left Chile,” Marillanca said.

“The club started fund raising with Bingo, lunches at the club house, selling hot dogs at the different games in town, raffles with donations from the neighbours in Batuco, night time soccer competitions, gold coins donations from Club Members and neighbours of Batuco, and contributions from small businesses and the Municipality of Lampa.”

Estrella Solitaria de Batuco is the second oldest soccer club of Batuco, a municipality of Chile and was founded in August 1945. Approximately 75% of its members are under the age of 30 and it also counts women football teams amongst its number.

“We got interested in the Cup after the talk given to us about the competition and Canberra by Gabriel Wilk and Victor Marillanca,” a club spokesperson said.

“We liked the challenge and we thought it was good for our young players to show their attributes in the field playing football in other lands and by being the first South America team to participate in the Kanga Cup we found it more important.

"We hope to gain the experience of being the first club from South America and Chile to participate in the Cup and participate with players from other countries and Australia and get to know how Australians play football and the facilities available for the players.

"On our return we aim to talk to the Chileans about the Kanga Cup as we have never had in Chile a competition such as the Kanga Cup!”

Marillanca confirmed that the boys were getting excited by their impending arrival in Australia.

“They are very excited,” Marillanca said. “They just want to get to Canberra to show how the Chilean and South American Soccer is played at their levels.

"Aand especially as the boys are from very under-privileged backgrounds, this trip to Australia to represent Chile at the Kanga Cup is a once in a lifetime chance"

The club added: “First of all we would like to thank the Cooma Tigers Coach, Gabriel Wilk and the ACT Honorary Ambassador, Victor Marillanca, for their visit to our stadium in Batuco and providing us with information about the Kanga Cup, football in Australia and in Canberra and for making the necessary arrangements to allow us to be invited to participate in this year's cup.

"We would also like to thank the Director of Kanga Cup, Adam Castle for extending the invitation to our boys and for his constant support and professionalism.

"We also like to thank the Municipality of Lampa and the Lady Mayoress Graciela Ortuzar, our members and friends of the Club in Batuco and Australia for their continuous economical support to allow this to happen.”

You can catch Estrella Solitaria in action throughout the Kanga Cup with their fixtures as follows:

Under-18 Cup
Monday July 9: v Mount Pritchard (Fr) at University of Canberra 7, kick off 14:30
Tuesday July 10: v John Paul College at Harrison 2, kick off 09:30
Tuesday July 10: v Enfield Rovers at Harrison 1, kick off 13:00
Wednesday July 11: v Weston Creek Wolves at Hawker Football Centre, kick off 11:00
Wednesday July 11: v Canberra Olympic Titans at Dickson 4, kick off 14:30

Kanga Cup Opening Ceremony will be held on SundayJuly 8 at the AIS Arena, commencing at 4pm. Matches begin around Canberra on Monday July 9 from 9.30am.