CANOGA PARK : Youth Given Tickets to World Cup Final

Nine-year-old Robert Perez and his dad, Carlos Ramon, were one of the luckiest father-son teams in the San Fernando Valley on Friday--Robert was awarded a pair of tickets to the World Cup final between Brazil and Italy.

The Syrvet Corp. of Des Moines, Iowa, donated the tickets to Catholic Charities located in Canoga Park, an organization that provides emergency assistance and works with the elderly, refugees, immigrants and at-risk youths. Catholic Charities, in turn, presented the tickets--worth $180 each--to Robert, a Van Nuys soccer fan.

Catholic Charities of Los Angeles is awarding three pairs of World Cup tickets to youngsters who otherwise would not be able to afford to go, said Greg Stuart, the agency’s youth services director. Ticket recipients are asked to take a member of their family to the match.

“They called me and said, ‘You’re going to the World Cup final,’ ” Robert said, but he didn’t believe he had actually won at first.

Once he was convinced he had won, Robert’s mother, Marian Ramon, said her son was ecstatic. “He was jumping up and down.”

“I’m really excited,” Robert said. “Brazil is my favorite team.”