Tournament review

Legacy
Kids get a kick
out of futsal
The UEFA Futsal EURO gave children
across Serbia the chance to get together
and get involved in the game
Olivera Arsenin wore a huge smile. With
grassroots matches in progress behind her at
the Arena of Belgrade, she looked the part in
the red-and-white shirt that marked her out as
a member of the Novi Sad team. She was there
on the eve of the semi-finals on 10 February
under the auspices of the My School – My Club
initiative, which was launched by the Football
Association of Serbia (FSS) in association with
UEFA to involve youngsters from across the
country in the thrill of the UEFA Futsal EURO.
"When I woke up, I was very excited," Olivera
said. "I couldn’t wait to get on the bus and go
to Belgrade for the game."
As well as giving children the unique
opportunity to play on the same surface as
Europe’s top futsal stars, social initiatives
around the tournament aimed to engage
the next generation with values such as
gender equality, fair play, respect and
sustainability. Getting children playing football
on a massive scale is a key objective of the
FSS and UEFA, and My School – My Club
certainly achieved that goal.
Local futsal tournaments were held
throughout the country in the build-up to the
EURO with the winners invited to compete at
the Arena of Belgrade the day before the semifinals
of the championship itself, with nearly 700
children under the age of 12 taking part.
"We had teams from the four major
administrative centres of Serbia – Kragujevac,
Nis, Novi Sad and Belgrade – coming together
for football, futsal and women’s football,"
explained Igor Janković, head of grassroots
at the FSS. "One boy and one girl from each
school was represented, with some of them in
the stands and some on the pitch. We really
like to see them enjoying the games and being
so cheerful and enthusiastic about futsal and,
naturally, about the EURO."
Children were a chief consideration during
the EURO. Local schoolkids provided the
illustrations for a Tips and Tricks sustainability
guide, which highlighted environment-protection
issues in everyday life. This was published in
Serbian and heavily promoted on social media.
This first EURO of 2016 also offered a platform
to publicise the work of the UEFA Foundation for
Children, which in conjunction with the Serbian
ministry for education arranged trips for
youngsters to attend matches.
At the Arena of Belgrade they were also
encouraged to visit an exhibition portraying life
at the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan, where
the UEFA foundation has instigated a footballinspired
project to ease the plight of children
living there; the powerful images evoked strong
emotions. It was another example of how
futsal and football are potent forces for good
in society, and why the tournament will leave a
lasting legacy in Serbia.
An exhibition drew attention to life in the Za’atari refugee camp
Two children proudly show their drawings in the sustainability guide
The My School – My Club initiative
concluded at the Arena of Belgrade
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