The British International School of Jeddah (BISJ) hosted the annual Festival of Football, bringing together 300 students from nine schools in a friendly, fun and competitive day.

The students were placed into one of the 32 teams, which gave them a chance to meet other boys and girls from Jeddah and strengthen ties between the schools.

“It helps children get to know each other and have fun through sport,” said Karen Moore, the organizer of the festival, “When they are not playing football, they’re involved in various team building activities which helps to develop their friendships.” Each team was named after a famous football club and allocated a student manager from the upper school. “We volunteer to work on our leadership skills,” said Deema Al Saud, “as manager we help organize the teams and focus on sportsmanship,” added Jumana Bawazir.

As the teams entered the knockout stages, the annual spring fair provided more entertainment. Families meandered through the many stalls and activity areas, enjoying face painting, a bouncy castle and local arts & crafts. Proceeds from the festival go straight to charity, made possible thanks to the sponsorship of Sport Look, Americano, Nestle, Imperial Leather and Fipco.

Towards the mid-afternoon the knockout rounds had reduced the teams to the final two. A rabble of excited parents and students gathered to watch Barcelona and Real Madrid battle it out. “I love my team, we were losing at lunch but came back to enter the final,” said Oways from team Barcelona.

Both teams attacked well but missed opportunities and strong defense prevented goals being scored. The match went into penalties where Barcelona emerged winners.

BISJ, Advanced Generation School, KAUST, French International, German International, Coral International, Yanbu International, and Jeddah International took part.