2021 Football for Friendship eWorld Championship – welcome the winners!
The Ninth Season of the Gazprom International Children’s Social Programme Football for Friendship has come to a close. This year, the programme united Young Participants from over 200 countries. Young Players aged 12 to 14 years have come together in 32 Teams of Friendship to take part in the F4F eWorld Championship, while Young Journalists were covering the events of the programme at the International Children’s Press Center.
The concept of International Teams of Friendship means that players of different nationalities, gender, and physical abilities play in football to show the world there are no barriers to becoming a team.
In 2021, the Football for Friendship programme was organised in the form of an e-sports event, which meant that the competition was contested on the F4F World multiuser football simulator that is available free of charge in 27 languages on MS Windows, Apple macOS, Android and iOS.
Young Players were training for the Championship, qualifying matches took place in 24th and 25th May, and by results it was set semi-finalists. In two semifinals – «Bearded Vulture» team played against «Argali» team while «Crested Ibis» team played against «Stoat» team. Both semifinals and final were played during the live F4F Grand Final broadcast.
The «Argali» team and the «Crested Ibis» team qualified for the Final, in which the «Argali» team outplayed the «Crested Ibis» team by 14 – 2.5. Officially the «Argali» team became the winners of the 2021 Football for Friendship eWorld Championship.
The «Argali» team united Young Participants from Belize, Costa Rica, Aruba, Guatemala, and Mexico. Each player represented their football academies, which will receive a grant for development of children’s football and promotions of the Nine Values of the programme: friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions, and honour.
Jose Amado, 16 y.o, Player and Journalist, «Argali» team, Guatemala:
It feels great and satisfactory to have won the whole championship after so much effort and unity in the team. It is the result of very hard work and the application of all the values of the program in the game. The communication and support between each other was our key to the victory. When the match result was negative for us, we supported each other to turn the result around and win. It was a pleasure and an honor to be part of the Football for Friendship programme. I learnt a lot of values that I will use in my daily life and that are going to help me in the future.
Allison Jazir Torres, 16 y.o, Сoach, «Argali» team, Belize:
Being а winner of this Football for Friendship eWorld Championship is just a feeling that cannot be explained, is the best feeling ever. I am the happiest coach and player. We had a good communication, and we had a good relationship as friends. We always stayed motivated, focused, and dedicated. I really need to digest all the feelings and this experience, my emotion now is that the Football for Friendship is the best experience that I have had.
