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Schoolboy's passport to success
A Wigan schoolboy has finally got the passport to success in America – after his dad made an urgent dash to Portugal!
Luis Giovetty's father Angelo raced back to his homeland to save his son's dream of playing in the prestigious Dallas Cup – a competition that the likes of Wayne Rooney and David Beckham have played in.
The 13-year-old was facing the agonising prospect of seeing his mates from Shevington FC jet out for the Texan trip without him because he did not have the correct paperwork to enter the United States.
Luis was born in the Portuguese resort of Figueira da Foz but moved to the UK with the rest of his family when he was just 18 months old and, although he can travel around the EU with general ID, he was told he requires a passport to get into the US.
"I've got my passport now so I'm ready to go," Luis told the Observer. "I was really worried before I got my passport, and wondering if I'd get it or not.
"We fly out from Heathrow on Thursday morning, and we're all really excited. I think we've got a good chance of winning – we finished third in our league."
The winger has bagged 10 goals so far this term as well as supplying a number of assists, and dad Angelo is confident his son's team have what it takes to come home with the trophy.
"They are a good team and I think they have a good chance of winning the competition," Angelo, fresh from his own whistle-stop tour, insisted.
The club's welfare officer, Shane Currie, admitted his relief that the problem had been sorted out ahead of the tournament, which begins on April 5.
Shevington FC have raised more than 12,000 for the dream trip.
The Dallas Cup is a prestigious international competition, with previous entrants including the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan.
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Weather for Wigan
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Light snow
Temperature: -6 C to 2 C
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