RIYADH, 5 October 2007 — Saudi and expatriate youths have been invited to participate in “Defend Your Street”, an exciting community-based five-a-side street soccer tournament, set to kick off Oct. 20 in Riyadh and Jeddah.
The tournament which is to be held for the second consecutive year is being sponsored by Nokia. “The tourney is aimed at uniting the young people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as part of Nokia’s commitment to the Middle East and Asia,” Nokia Marketing Manager for Saudi Arabia Michel Salem told Arab News yesterday . This year’s Defend Your Street project follows on from the successful Defend Your Turf tournament that took place in the capital last year.
“The street football implementation program involves connecting youth to their dreams, encouraging them to keep focused on their goals and desires, as well as remain on top of their game — all through the medium of football,” Salem said.
“The project was an astounding success last year, with thousands of young people taking part. The enthusiasm that each player brings to the game and the resulting teamwork out on the field is really something. We’re hugely excited to once again see the good that a project like this brings to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as nothing seems to unite quite like football does.”
Prospective participants are encouraged to register as teams of eight players within the deadline of Oct. 19 with a recruitment phase open to anyone between the specified age group .
“There are no goalkeepers but three substitutes are allowed during each game. A total of 128 teams are expected to participate in this year’s tournament,” Salem added .
A series of knock-out rounds between 128 teams will take place starting from Oct. 20 in Jeddah and in Riyadh (64 teams per city). The Jeddah and Riyadh champions will emerge to play in the national championship to be held in Jeddah on Oct. 26. The final winning team will play the ‘Boys from Brazil’, a select team of young footballers who have demonstrated excellent skills playing street football in Brazil, and have been handpicked by Futebol Profissional — the premier football association of Rio de Janeiro.
He added, “By challenging youth in a project such as this, it really empowers them to be active, to go after their goals and to be successful, while making friends, having fun and offering a chance to exercise and be healthy.”
Registration is on through the dedicated website and on ground recruiters. For more information about the Defend Your Street challenge and online registration please go to: www.nokia.com/defendyourstreet.
