"Now that football and futsal tournaments are again permitted, I feel happy that I can play again. I meet my friends from other sites. I didn't see them since COVID-19 happened and seeing them now and playing with them is just amazing," said Stephen, one of the players for the Summer Festival held last April 25, 2022 at Sampaguita Multipurpose Covered Court in Tacloban.
Stephen was among the 77 youth players who participated in the first site tournament organized by FundLife in 2022. There were a total of 34 girls and 43 boys who made up the nine (9) teams in the 13 years old and under mix (U13 mix), and six (6) teams in the 18 years old and under mix (U18 mix) categories.
The tournament not only brought children from Tacloban and Palo, Leyte to play futsal, but it also enabled them to gain new friends, learn from each other, and assess their skills in playing competitively.
All participating teams demonstrated the skills and techniques they learned from their community-based sessions. They also showed good teamwork and respect towards other players.
Competitions like this do not only build up my futsal skills this also helps me to understand the value of respect not just in the game but in real life as well.
"I enjoyed playing futsal without being too aggressive and this is new to me because before I had this thinking that I need to be physical and very aggressive if I need to win. I learned during the games today that a player can be competitive without hurting other players, especially since we were mixed with girls. I actually liked that there were girls on the team because they felt more included in the game and not just substitutes. We made them a fee that we treat them as equal in sports," adds Ronald, one of the best performing players during the tournament.
Here are the winners of the Summer Festival Tournament:
Team Joyful (San Isidro) won the Championship for the U18 mix while team Resilient (GMA New Lions) placed second. For the U13 mix, Team Obedient won the championship over team Generous (San Isidro).