| James Kon |
THE sixth season of the ‘Football for Friendship’ (F4F) Programme organised from June 8-15 by Gazprom, the official partner of FIFA and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, has concluded successfully in Moscow.
It brought together young football players and young journalists aged 12 years from 211 countries as well as regions. It united them into 32 International Teams of Friendship. Brunei Darussalam joined the programme for the first time this year and was represented by Projek Ikan Pusu (PIP) trainees, Mohd Danish Ataullah bin Mohd Riduwan and Muhamed Danish Izz Syahmi bin Mohd Bahrin. Accompanying them were PIP coaches, Mohd Ikhmarol Izzat bin Haji Omar (head of delegation) and Mohd Adi Shahirol Izzat bin Haji Omar.
Speaking about the programme, His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah, President of National Football Association Of Brunei Darussalam said, “We are delighted to have participated in the Football for Friendship Programme through our young ambassadors, Mohd Danish Ataullah and Muhamed Danish Izz Syahmi. It is our constant endeavour to use football as a tool to instill core values, break barriers and promote integration among the children of the world, which coincides with the key values endorsed by the F4F Programme. We are positive that the kids, as young ambassadors for Brunei Darussalam, would have learnt, benefited from and will share all the important lessons and fundamental human values that they have learnt from the F4F programme, with their friends and families in Brunei. On behalf of the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam, we congratulate and thank the F4F Organising Committee and Gazprom for successfully organising and conducting this impactful and meaningful programme as well as providing the young ambassadors with this wonderful platform to celebrate friendship through the unifying power of football.
His Royal Highness added, “To us, the F4F is also an excellent opportunity to motivate and inspire the next generation. It is yet another step forward in our continuous efforts to promote grassroots football development in Brunei Darussalam. After all is said and done, the children are our future.”
Mohd Danish Ataullah played as goalkeeper in the ‘Whale Shark’ team, along with his 12-year old teammates from Cape Verde Islands, Maldives, Honduras, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Lebanon. Danish put on a stellar performance by making several critical saves in the qualifying games to take his team to the second spot in their group. However, his team was just a few goals short of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Speaking about his experience in Russia, Danish Ataullah said, “I am happy to have been given the opportunity to represent my country in the F4F programme in Moscow. I made a lot of friends from different countries. We discussed, practiced and played football together. I learnt a lot from playing with my friends from different countries and from the coaches during training and the competition. Even though we speak different languages, we can still understand each other well through football. This has been an amazing journey and Syahmi and I hope to keep in touch with all our new friends from around the world.”
It was no different for Muhamed Danish Izz Syahmi who acted as the young journalist and covered all key events on equal terms with the adult reporters. The young ambassador from Bandar Seri Begawan was given the opportunity to learn from the well-known journalists representing the leading Russian sports media outlets, as a part of their workshops.
The F4F programme also consisted of a three-day International Friendship Camp in Moscow for the young ambassadors. This was followed by the final multi-nationality championship match that was held on June 12 at the Sapsan Arena Stadium.
The programme ended with the ‘International Children’s Forum’ during which the children shared their experiences and held discussions with their peers, famous footballers and journalists. The forum was addressed by legendary Spanish goalkeeper, Iker Casillas among other renowned delegates.
On the occasion of the ‘Sixth International Football for Friendship Children’s Forum, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gazprom, Victor Zubkov, said, “Today, delegates from 211 countries and regions are gathered here to participate in this event. In comparison to 2013, when we started the ‘Football for Friendship’ programme, the geography of the project has now increased 26 times. Over the past five years more than 4,000 kids took part in the programme, and the total number of supporters for ‘Football for Friendship’ has today exceeded three million people”
On June 14, Danish Ataullah had the unique opportunity to be a part of the opening ceremony of the 2018 FIFA World Cup as Brunei Darussalam’s flag bearer. Both young ambassadors also had the opportunity to watch the opening match between Russia and Saudi Arabia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.