THE competition will be fierce this July on the football fields in Brazil.
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Even though the Socceroos have not made the FIFA World Cup finals, Australia will be well represented by a team that has a competitive streak and stands for a good cause.
Which team might this be? The Docceroos — a group of enthusiastic footballers who are all doctors.
Running since 2003, the World Medical Football Championship is an international doctors' football competition and this year will be held in Brazil at the same time as the World Cup finals. Shiva Roy and Con Archis who both work at Sutherland Hospital will represent Australia in the "master docceroos", an over-45s team.
Cardiologist Dr Roy is excited to compete at an international level, and also hopes to raise awareness about fitness and health.
"This has been a great opportunity to practise what we preach to patients, " Dr Roy said.
"Physical activity is a fundamental component of preventing cardiovascular disease.
"We are lucky to have a generally well educated physically active population in the Sutherland shire. Participation in mature age football in the area is enormous which is wonderful both from a health perspective and an Australian football culture perspective."
The Docceroos hope to inspire people of all ages to participate in regular moderate exercise but encourage mature age sportsmen and women to visit their GPs for a general health check before competing.
The team leaves for Brazil on June 30.
"Hopefully we can achieve some success for Australian football in Brazil and demonstrate the same spirit as the Socceroos have in the World Cup so far."
