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Title:Football club's journey subject of documentary.
By Marco Smits
Published in The Review Mirror
Date: May 06, 2004

"This is a big deal. This is a big stinking deal," shouted Lushkings' lead singer Dale Wale through the microphone at Anders Carson, head coach of the Portland Football Club (PFC).

The four-man rock and blues band from Newmarket, Ontario just finished another set during a fundraiser for PFC at Mr. Slate Sports Bar in Toronto.

Wale's enthusiasm for the team is yet another sign that grass roots support for PFC is spreading beyond the 250 residents in Portland and the 9000 in the Township of Rideau Lakes.

Thursday's money-raising effort was organized by employees from Decode Entertainment, the company that will produce a 60-minute documentary, about the rural soccer team called Going for Gold.

"Right now we are focussing on helping them [PFC] with fundraising," said Jacqueline Nuwame, director of communications for Decode.

"The documentary won't be ready to go to air for probably another year so we are really just helping to promote the kids and what they are doing, not so much the documentary yet," said Nuwame.

Tickets were sold for $10 at the door and the 50/50 draw brought in another $220. In total approximately $3500 was raised.

Items in Thursday's silent auction included a signed Mats Sundin Swedish team jersey, a Trailer Park Boys promotion package and a Swedish cook book, each bringing in approximately $200.

Sundin's shirt and the cookbook were donated by the Swedish Embassy, which has been supportive of the club's trip to the Gothia Cup in Sweden since the beginning of their dream.

Everybody that entered the bar signed a soccer ball, that will be presented to the team when Decode's film crew spreads its wings over Portland in the week surrounding a big PFC send-off party July 3.

Decode Entertainment is specialized in animation and children's programs, and has offices in Toronto and London, England.

In 2002 the company's www.undergrads.tv won a Gemini Award for most popular website. The website supported their television show Undergrads.

Recent Decode programs, such as Free Roscoe Radio and Franny's Feet air on a variety of stations including Teletoon and Comedy Central and can soon be seen in France, England and Asia.

But making documentaries is new to Decode explains producer Elana Adair, who will travel with the team to Sweden to over see production.

"We have not done a lot of documentaries," said Adair. "We see Going for Gold as a stepping stone into this field."

Decode has already sold the documentary to TV Ontario and Adair feels confident that other stations will follow.

Filming in Sweden will be done by a local film crew in cooperation with Decode.

Adair also says they are hoping to arrange a meeting between the Canadian National Team and PFC when Canada plays their two World Cup qualifying matches against Belize in Kingston in June.