More than 200 children and teens aged between 8 and 17 will take part in the Children’s Football Championship “Euro-2016”. The event is staged by the Center “Don Bosco” with the support of a number of embassies working in Chisinau. This year it will be the fifth event of the kind held in Moldova, IPN reports.
According to the organizers, the number of participants this year is twice higher than the previous years. The competition will involve 18 teams consisting of football amateurs from a number of districts. The children do not train at football clubs and do not have such possibilities. The goal of the event is to popularize sports among the young generation. The championship is supported by the embassies of Poland, Italy, Hungary, Turkey, Ukraine and Qatar in Chisinau and by the OSCE Mission to Moldova.
“Don Bosco” president Don Gianfranco Ferrari said this event is an important accomplishment of the Center. “This is an experience for players who do not attend sports clubs. Therefore, it is important for us. On this occasion, we will inaugurate a Professional Development Center on which we worked during the past one year and a half,” he stated.
Hungary’s Ambassador in Chisinau Szilágyi Mátyás noted that this championship offers the children from poorer families the possibility of competing with mates. “We must attract these children into the world of sport. We know that there are a lot of talented young people here who are future champions in different fields of sport,” he said.
The slogan of the championship this year is “Loyal and friendly play helps us grow up”. Italy’s Ambassador Enrico Nunziata said they support this event because the human values must be promoted through the agency of sport. “We must save the street children and engage them in important, healthy activities. I think the embassies must support this big effort made by the Center “Don Bosco” in the Republic of Moldova,” he stated.
Turkey’s Ambassador in Chisinau Mehmet Selim Kartal said the football competitions are important because football is multicultural and is practiced in many countries. “The co-participation of a number of ambassadors, from that of Qatar to that of Ukraine, shows how multicultural this type of sport is and I’m convinced that it will develop further the next years,” he noted.
The Children’s Football Championship “Euro-2016” will take place on May 15-22. The participants will compete in the following age categories: 8-11, 12-14, and 15-17.