Orphanage children relish Warsaw match

A group of children from an orphanage near Warsaw were given the football experience of a lifetime when they attended the UEFA EURO 2012 Group A game between Poland and Russia at the National Stadium Warsaw on Tuesday.

Twenty-five youngsters spent the entire day in the Polish capital before coming to the arena to watch the exciting 1-1 draw. UEFA made the memorable experience possible by providing tickets and assistance to the Volunteers for Sport Foundation – which, in partnership with streetfootballworld, is responsible for implementing the official UEFA community health education project in Poland and Ukraine, RESPECT your Health – Euroschools 2012.

The children also paid a visit to the Polish Olympic Committee, where Polish hurdler Grażyna Rabsztyn – who has set three world records in the 100m hurdles – guided them personally through the Museum of Sport and answered questions.

After watching a film on Poland's Olympic history, the children met Polish ice hockey legend Mariusz Czerkawski and discus thrower Piotr Malachowski, silver medallist at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The theme of the meeting was 'What does it take to become a champion?' and both sportsmen stressed that it is very important for everyone to dream, and also to set clear goals and achieve them.

Then came the big match. "This was definitely the best day of my life," said 12-year-old Damian after watching the action. The children delighted in the ebb and flow of the game between two evenly-matched teams, and expressed obvious joy at the outcome, as well as the splendid goal scored for Poland by Jakub Blaszyczykowski.

Respect your Health – Euroschools 2012 is the official community health education programme of UEFA EURO 2012. This one-year project aims to promote a healthy lifestyle, with a focus on smoking prevention, responsible alcohol consumption, healthy diet and physical activity among young people and their families in Poland and Ukraine.