For the first time in the history of the International Children’s Games uniting young athletes from 30 countries, a football game will be played in the format of Football for Friendship on July 13. The Match will be conducted by the Young Ambassadors of the Gazprom International Children’s Social Programme Football for Friendship. The teams will unite the participants of the International Children’s Games of different nationality and gender. Children aged 14-16 will be their coaches.

Football for Friendship has just finished its Seventh Season in Madrid with triumph becoming the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title holder for the most nationality in a football training session in history. The programme continues to actively expand the ranks of its supporters and promote common human values among the younger generation.

Young Ambassadors from Bolivia, India, China, Netherlands, and Russia will come to Ufa to participate in the events of the 53^rd International Children’s Games (ICG). They will speak about the Nine Values of the programme, conduct the Football for Friendship Match, and award young athletes participants of the ICG a special award “For Commitment to the Nine Values”.

The International Teams of Friendship will unite the participants of the 53^rd International Children’s Games: young athletes from all over the world. The Match will be held on July 13, on the FC Ufa stadium.

The International Children’s Games is a sporting event held under the aegis of the International Olympic Committee between children aged 12-15. In 2019, the International Children’s Summer Games will be held in Ufa on July 9-14. The participants of the ICG are 1200 young athletes from 85 cities of 30 countries of the world. 16 city venues, 5 sports locations, and more than 400 volunteers will work with the guests and participants. Representatives of national and international media will come to Ufa to cover the events. Ufa will become the only city to hold both winter and summer ICG.

“Football for Friendship and the International Children’s Games have a lot in common. We are doing the same global work: we are all united by our commitment to a healthy lifestyle and team spirit. I know that we can learn a lot from each other,” says Jennifer Chavez Suarez, Young Journalist from Bolivia.

Information:

Gazprom EP International is the sole specialized enterprise for implementing Gazprom's projects in the areas of prospecting, exploration and development of hydrocarbons outside the Russian Federation.  The company is currently involved in nearly 40 projects of different scale in 20 countries across three continents. With the support of Gazprom EP International children from the Netherlands, Bolivia and India will take part in the International Children’s Games.

The International Children’s Social Programme Football for Friendship is carried out by Gazprom PJSC since 2013. Participants of the programme, Young players and Young Journalists, are girls and boys aged 12, including those with disabilities. United in the International Teams of Friendship to play in the Football for Friendship World Championship, Young Players represent different countries and cultures. Young Journalists cover the events of the programme in the International Children’s Press Center. This way, they learn to communicate with each other using the language of friendship and speak about the world without war and discrimination.

All participants of the programme receive the title of Young Ambassadors and upon their return home, they continue to share their unique experience gained at Football for Friendship and promote the common human values: friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions, and honour. Football for Friendship is supported by the UEFA, FIFA, International Olympic Committee, football federations of different countries, international charity funds, famous athletes, politicians, and artists. For the previous seasons, the programme has brought more than 6 thousand participants together and acquired over 5 million followers. In 2019, Football for Friendship set a world record and obtained the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title for the most nationalities in a football training session in history.

Programme’s official Internet resources:

Photos and video materials for the media: http://media.footballforfriendship.com 

Official Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/FootballForFriendship/

Official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/FOOTBALL4FRIENDSHIP    

Official Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_for_Friendship

Official Twitter account: https://twitter.com/football4f 

Official website: https://www.gazprom-football.com/en/home.htm