Moldovan grassroots scene is flourishing

The Football Association of Moldova (FMF), in conjunction with the Cross Cultures Project Association (CCPA) and the Open Fun Football Schools (OFFS) programme, engaged fully in the recent International Football Day.

The FMF helped to stage a series of football activities and events to mark the occasion, on 10 December, in a country where the game's grassroots have flourished during the last year. Moldova staged 15 Open Fun Football Schools in 2010, involving a total of 2,880 children – 1,680 boys and 1,200 girls.

For International Football Day, children from the Hirbovet district participated in football-themed activities, including a tournament, a quiz and a drawing contest. Classrooms, halls and sports halls were decorated with football pictures and pupils came to school in their favourite kits.

At one school, 90 youngsters aged between six and 14 took part in a mixed five-a-side tournament, with fair play and Respect encouraged throughout. As well as helping to nurture such values, this event – in keeping with the OFFS initiative – helped to promote a healthy lifestyle and develop friendships between children and parents.

The Open Fun Football School based in Hirbovet, meanwhile, was named the best in the country at a seminar earlier in December organised with CCPA assistance.

Looking at the wider picture, the OFFS scheme which the CCPA helps to run in Moldova was also awarded the prize for best grassroots project by an association, region or agency in the 2010 UEFA Grassroots Awards. The OFFS use sport to stimulate peaceful coexistence, gender equality, tolerance and social cohesion in countries and communties affected by war and ethnic conflicts.