The Dorchester Eagles Pop Warner football program hopes to send two of its teams to compete in a national tournament in Orlando this month— if the group cane raise the tens of thousands of dollars they need to fund the trip to Disney World.

Both the A and C teams have won New England regional tites to earn a berth in the Pop Warner Super Bowl. The competition starts on Dec. 3. As in years past, the thrill of earning the right to play is tempered with anxiety about actually paying for the expense of getting to Florida— and staying for the week.

“The money we raise during the year goes other places,” explained Terry Cousins, head coach of the Dorchester organization. “It pays the referees and the fees associated with being in a league, like conference fees and insurance. Dorchester has 8-10 Pop Warner teams and the money is split between all of them.”

The Eagles have raised over $9,000 through a GoFundMe page titled “Help the Eagles Fly to Disney World.”

“I just want to thank those that want to help us in advance,” said Cousins. “People should know it’s not just about football here, but it’s about saving kid’s lives when they do things like this because it shows them different views of the world, the country, and different things outside of their confinement and inner circles. You would be surprised how good and beautiful they feel about themselves. They see that hard work pays off, “said Cousins.

“It feels so good that we finally get to go with two teams like some of the powerhouse teams we see at the Pop Warner Super Bowl. It shows dominance in our region for football and now we’re on that dominance level.”