After two exciting fooball-packed days in Belgrade, the winners of the tournament have emerged!
The eight young players of the Polish delegation from the Masurian Association of Sports Initiatives (MSIS) will take home the greatest honour, having been voted the fairest team of the festival by their peers.
MSIS uses football to foster dialogue and tolerance amongst young people in Mragowo, Poland. The team collected the Fair Play Trophy to the jubilant cheers of over 200 fellow participants.
“This is our first time taking part in the European Street Football Festival and we’re absolutely thrilled to have won the Fair Play Award,” said Arek Mierkowski, MSIS delegation leader.
“We hope that our commitment to fair play will inspire and give hope to others well beyond the tournament itself.”
Big wins for Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Festival Cup and the Belgrade Cup were both won by teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Football Friends from Goražde raised the Festival Cup high after the final game of the tournament.
“We’re really happy to be able to bring the Festival Cup to Goražde,” said Amina, one of the four girls on the team.
“It’s been an amazing time. We’ve met people from all over Europe and made a lot of new friends.”
Football Friends Banja Luka emerged victorious from the second group to win the Belgrade Cup.
“This is my first time ever winning a trophy in a football tournament, and it’s a great feeling!” said 16-year-old David.
The award ceremony was the high point of the four-day street football festival in Belgrade. Each participant received a medal, a certificate and a football.
Football3 in the sunshine
Over the four days the 15-18-year-old participants played a total of 84 games. A team of 24 Young Leaders served as mediators, helping players use dialogue to solve conflicts on the pitch.
Networking for Development through Football
The coordinators of each of the 20 delegations also had the opportunity for their own exchange.
“These festivals are incredibly important for exchange in the field of Development through Football,” said Perry Ogden, delegation leader from streetfootballworld network member SARI of Ireland.
“Without streetfootballworld and this type of event, I would never have learned about so many of the programmes run by organisations attending this festival. I’ve met a lot of extraordinary people here and I hope that we’ll be able to work on programmes together in the future.”
Find out more!
Download the results of the second tournament day here.
For more photos, visit our photo gallery and our Facebook page.
