Sri Lankan kids shine at F4F programme in Spain; become part of Guinness World Record
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The champion team with football legend Roberto Carlos at the Plaza Mayor square in Madrid, Spain
A delegation of four young players, coach and official from Renown Football Academy represented Sri Lanka in the seventh season of Gazprom International Children’s Social Programe, Football For Friendship (F4F) held in Madrid, Spain. This year children from more than 50 countries from all over the world participated in the final series of events featuring football training camps, workshops to teach good sportsmanship and the values behind the game and the main event the 2019 Football for Friendship World Championship with 32 teams.
The young players were part of a Guinness world record set during the programe and they also got the opportunity to watch the UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur played at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium the home ground of Atletico Madrid. Football legends Roberto Carlos, Marco Materazzi, Andrei Arshavin, Alexei Smertin, Dmitri Sychev, and Anatoliy Timoshchuk were part of the events and mingled with the kids which was a big boost for them.
The F4F programme constitutes of several global events including the Football for Friendship World Championship, International Football for Friendship Forum, International Friendship Camp, Nine Values School and International Day of Football and Friendship. The aim of the programe is to cultivate respect for different cultures and nationalities in children from different countries through football and promote basic human values such as friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions and honor. As an ecological initiative all the 32 International Teams of Friendship were named after endangered animals of all the continents of the world. The programme is supported by FIFA, UEFA, UN, Olympic and Paralympic Committees.
Young footballer Muhammed Saad proudly holding the Sri Lanka flag during the F4F Opening Ceremony
The four young players Rahul Emmanuel from St. Joseph’s College, Colombo, Ravindu Dias from Gateway College, Tharindra Perera from St. Benedict’s College, Colombo and Muhammed Saad from Wycherley International School were selected after a lengthy selection process and performed admirably during the programe. Ravindu Dias became the first Sri Lankan to score a goal in the Football for Friendship World Championship. In fact he scored two goals in the tournament and his team Sunda Pangolin featuring children from Russia, Greece, Japan and Pakistan reached the quarter-final stage of the 32 team Championship which was a major achievement. Tharindra Perera played for Iberian Lynx and Muhammed Saad played for Snow Leopard and both teams finished second in their respective groups with two wins and a loss. Rahul Emmanuel was the young coach of Philippine Crocodile team consisting of players from Russia, Sweden, Cyprus, Lithuania, Estonia and Uzbekistan and he was commended for how he handled his team.
The young players brought honour to Sri Lanka by being part of Football for Friendship’s Guinness World Record for Most Nationalities in a Football Training Session. The previous record was 50 nationalities but Football for Friendship comfortably exceeded this with 57 nationalities in total at the session. The children also got a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch the Champions League final live including the spine tingling rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone by Liverpool fans.
This year the organisers launched the International Football for Friendship Coaches Academy to train the Academy coaches who are vital to develop football at the junior level. The Academy’s programme included workshops from sports experts and themed sessions at the International Football for Friendship Forum. Nisal Nilanga, a former national player and the head coach of the Renown Football Academy’s community academy participated in the above programme and learnt new coaching methods and techniques which he plans to implement in Sri Lanka through Renown Football Academy.
The Sri Lankan delegation was led by Vincent Sritharan Pieris the founder of the Renown Football Academy and promoter of football especially at the junior and schools’ level.
Renown Football Academy is part of Renown Sports Club, one of the leading football clubs in Sri Lanka founded by the Pieris brothers. Renown SC has won the local league and FA Cup competitions several times and have represented Sri Lanka in Asian club tournaments. In fact they were the first Sri Lankan football club to win an international competition which they achieved by winning the POMIS Cup held in Maldives. They have also produced numerous national players.
The Sri Lankan delegation who participated in the F4F final event in Spain
As the main club is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year the academy has taken major steps to develop football at the junior level. They have been sponsoring the Sri Lanka Schools’ Football Association’s All-Island Under-18 Tournament, the main tournament in the Sri Lanka schools football calendar for the last three years. Their professional academies offer a pathway for talented junior footballers to play the game at the highest level in future. There are presently more than 300 kids in their two academies including more than 50 girls which includes several players from the Sri Lanka national Under-16 girls team who are under scholarship. The coaching crew at the Academies include several head coaches of Champions League clubs and the present Sri Lanka national women’s team head coach all of whom are Asian Football Confederation licensed coaches.
The organisers had invited Renown Football Academy this year due to their commitment to develop football in Sri Lanka. The Academy is following the latest training methods of a world leading academy training programme and have close contacts with some of the leading European clubs as they aspire to develop football in Sri Lanka in junior and grassroots level.
The Renown Football Academy management thanked Vladimir Serov, the global director of the F4F programme and his team for inviting them this year and for the hospitality and support given to the Sri Lankan contingent during this year’s programme. They indicated they will be taking steps to promote F4F programme in Sri Lanka as well as promote the nine values in schools and communities through the academy and the four kids who will act as ambassadors of Football for Friendship in Sri Lanka.
They also thanked the former Minister of Sports, Faiszer Musthapha, who helped in establishing their City Academy and the present Minister of Sports, Harin Fernando for the support he has given till now. They further indicated that several initiatives will be taken to develop football in schools and grassroots level in future in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.