Bolivian Children Once Again to Take Part in the Football for Friendship

Children of the Bolivian Alalay Foundation will participate in the seventh season of the International Social Programme for Children “Football for Friendship”. On 3 May in the Programme was presented to the Alalay’s children and mass media representatives the cultural center of La Paz. Journalists had a chance to meet the children who were given the opportunity to participate in the final part of the event. Young footballers Mateo Mamani, David Peñarrieta and Fabian Vidal together with Lucas Calderon, a 12-year-old young journalist, became the lucky participants of the event.

This year, the final events of the extensive Programme will take place between 28 May and 2 June in Madrid and will gather children from all over the globe. The participants eagerly await the main event, the Football for Friendship World Championship; the final will take place in the heart of Madrid, the central Plaza Mayor. Children trying their skills in journalism will be given an amazing opportunity to work in the International Children Press Center while covering the “Football for Friendship” events. At the closure of the seventh season of the project, the children will attend the final match of the Champions League 2019 that will take place at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid.

The meeting was organized by the Alalay Foundation and the Representative Office of Gazprom EP International in Bolivia. The presentation was attended by Claudia Gonzales, the Foundation Executive Director, Mario Crespo, Consul-General of the Kingdom of Spain in Bolivia, Jeronimo Fuentes, Cultural Affairs Counselor for to the Embassy of Spain in Bolivia and Director of the Cultural Center, and Artem Ustinov, Counselor to the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bolivia,.

For the second year, Gazprom EP International has been supporting the Alalay Foundation that is under the patronage of Bolivia’s President Evo Morales. Last year the company facilitated participation of two Alalay’s children under the additional quota. This year four young Bolivians will attend the final part of the Programme. Moreover, two journalists from the leading Bolivian periodicals will visit the capital of Spain for covering the events in the national media.

Background

The International Children’s Social Programme “Football for Friendship” has been held by Gazprom since 2013. The goal of the Programme is development of the children’s football, fostering tolerance and respect towards different cultures and nationalities among the children from different countries. This is contributed by the Project’s Nine Values: friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions and honor.

Gazprom EP International is a Gazprom operator in the areas of prospecting, exploration and production of hydrocarbons outside the Russian Federation. Today Gazprom EP International is operating in two dozen countries and three continents. It is involved in about 40 projects of different scale.

The Alalay Charity Foundation was established in 1990 under the patronage of the President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Evo Morales. The main goal of the Foundation is provision of economic and social support for children from orphanages and vulnerable families of Bolivia.