Mini Tournament in Hasbaya, Lebanon.

 

84 children - 73 boys and 11 girls - from 4 different Popular Clubs in the region of Hasbaya, South Lebanon took part in a mini-tournament on Sunday, January 17.

The tournament was hosted by the Popular Club of Kfair and organized by the CCPA coordinator Hussein in cooperation with 8 coaches from the popular clubs in Hasbaya, Fardis, Khalwat and Kfair. 

 
The tournament took place at the stadium of Kfair in the mountains around Hasbaya. The children were brought to the venue in buses from the different villages, where local bus drivers offered to bring the children free of charge. One of drivers said: “We like the idea and want to help the children and Hussein with this. And we also like to be here watching the children play football and have fun.”

 

 

Besides the bus drivers several parents and other people from the area were present at the stadium enjoying the nice weather and the great atmosphere. The local press also showed up to cover the event.
The coaches arranged the field into 8 mini pitches and divided the children into 16 different teams. The teams were all mixed and included both boys and girls, small and bigger children and not least children from different clubs. This idea was explained to the children by CCPA coordinator Hussein in his introduction to the tournament: “We don’t play club against club, but we are mixing and play together. We play without results and without winners - or actually everybody wins!”

The parents and spectators were all very impressed by the activities and were assisting the coaches serving water for the children and cleaning up after the tournament. A father to one of the participating children said: “We hope that this could happen every week. The activities are good for the children – and for us, their families. The children get new friends and are having a great time”.

The CCPA mini tournaments will continue during the coming months, and the next mini tournament in the region of Hasbaya will take place in Fardis, a neighboring town to Kfair.