Moscow, Russia—A festive local football tournament took place in Moscow’s Lyublino District as part of the “Play Football for Peace” initiative.
The Moscow chapter of UPF and the NGO Stardvor organized the soccer tournament with the support of the Lyublino District Council (represented by the deputy head E.G. Polukhova) and Municipal Deputy N.D. Raytsev.
Scheduled to coincide with National Unity Day (a Russian national holiday that is celebrated on November 4), the tournament was held on November 5, 2016, at the sports field on Verkhniye Polya (“Upper Fields”) Street.
Four rival teams participated in the match. Despite frosty weather, the tournament was bright and successful.
The football festival was held under the slogan "Play Football for Peace." Despite cold and much snow, representatives of the management "Zhilischnik of the Lyublino District" earlier had cleared the field of snow, decorated it with colorful banners, and prepared for the tournament. Security provided by district police officer Roman Khairutdinov and medical aid in the persons of Anna Zoschuk and Mikhail Smirnov allowed all those present to feel peace of mind and confidence in getting the necessary assistance, if needed.
It should be pointed out that organizing such sporting events has long been a tradition in the Lyublino District, popular among young people and adults; it allowed more than one generation of teenagers to realize their potential in sport and in their personal life. The tradition, which was established 13 years ago, has been supported by the district administration and municipal deputies. Many pupils of the association Stardvor, former members of the team Stardvor-Seigniors (Sergey Podshivalov, Vladimir Pishchulin, Alexander Shuvalov, Mikhail Maklozyan, Ilya Pankratov, Alexander Stanulevich, Alexander Petrov, Andrei Slesarenko, Fedor Berezhnoi, Alexey Skvorchenkov, team captain Grigoriy Mkrtchyan, coach Sergei Kozlov), five-time champions of the district tournaments, successfully playing today in the first amateur football league, and Anna Zoschuk, main sports Amazon of the association Stardvor, a record-holder of Russia in chasing a ball and a wonderful young mother, are a good incentive for the growing generation to achieve sporting victory and self-actualization.
At the opening ceremony of the tournament, Beslan Zarakua, the head of the association Stardvor and the initiator of such events in the area, gave a welcoming speech. He reminded the participants of the principles of the "Yard of Happiness": respect for elders, hospitality and spirit of noble rivalry.
Dmitry Samko, the secretary general of UPF Moscow, spoke of the principles and ideas of "Play Football for Peace": promoting among young people a culture of peace, tolerance and a healthy lifestyle.
During the tournament the teams demonstrated their desire to win. Games were held in a circular system, allowing all teams to play against each other: two halves of 15 minutes per game in a series of six games. In each match, despite the cold weather, real passions were running high. Quite inspiring was the friendly atmosphere of fair play in full accordance with the basic principles of FIFA.
In the final match were the teams Dvizhenie ("Movement") and Lyubertsy-2015, both multiple winners who did not want any compromises. The competition was tough, unyielding, but bright and interesting. However, fortune smiled on the more experienced Lyubertsy-2015 team.
All the prize-winners were awarded diplomas and commemorative medals. The Championship Cup was handed by an old-timer of tournaments, Beslan Zarakua, to the team captain of Lyubertsy-2015, Dmitry Samko. "The best player" was Maxim Averkin, and “the best goalkeeper" was Pavel Korchagin—both from the Lyubertsy-2015 team.
Our heroes and their results:
SCHEDULE
- Lyubertsy-2015: 9—Dvizhenie: 1
- Stardvor: 6—Lyublino: 4
- Lyubertsy-2015: 6—Stardvor: 3
- Dvizhenie: 1—Lyublino: 0
- Lyublino: 1—Lyubertsy-2015: 7
- Dvizhenie: 5—Stardvor: 4
THE RESULTS
- Lyubertsy-2015 (Pavel Korchagin, Konstantin Spletuhov, Maxim Averkin, Dmitry Ablikov. Captain: Dmitry Samko)
- Dvizhenie (Andrei Sokolov, Sergei Getman, Pavel Petelin, Dmitry Melnikov, Yevgeny Mirzyanov. Captain: Yuri Gavrilin)
- Stardvor (Sergey Postupak, Andrey Tischenko, Anton Nazarov, Ahmed Visaidov, Usmon Mirzoaliev, Beslan Zarakua. Captain: Ilya Moskal)
- Lyublino (Danila Uskov, Akmaldzhon Melikov, Vitaly Bostan, Denis Tkachenko, Artyom Sidyakin. Captain: Anton Tishchenko)
After the awards ceremony, the participants gathered in a cozy room of the UPF offices to enjoy tea and the Georgian cheese bread known as khachapuri. Amid a warm and friendly atmosphere the participants stayed a long time, discussing different moments of the football battles. They sincerely thanked the organizers for a successful event, also expressing their gratitude to the sponsor of the festival, Municipal Deputy Nikolai Raytsev, for his constant assistance, generosity and active support of the sports movement in the district.
In parting, the participants expressed their hope to meet soon on the football field in the framework of the project "Play Football for Peace" and wished each other success and good health.
UPF would like to thank all the participants and organizers of the event! Special thanks go to the Gladiators of: the Housing Management Lyubertsy-2015, associations Dvizhenie, Stardvor, Lyublino; Municipal Deputy Nikolai Raytsev (for assistance, prizes and media support); Deputy Head of the District Council Elena Polukhova; representative of the city management "Zhilischnik of the Lyublino District" Natalia Suhorukova; district police officer Roman Khairutdinov; Marina Chuksina, deputy manager of the "Magnolia" store; and tournament organizers Beslan Zarakua and Dmitry Samko.