SPORTS

FIFA Fair Play Day a success Published on Wednesday, October 1, 2008 Email To Friend    Print Version (TCI-GIS): Players from the Turks and Caicos Islands Football Association (TCIFA) National Development U20 Squads - turned out in full force to participate in the 12th annual FIFA Fair Play day. Held on Sunday, September 28, in a celebration that coincides with the United Nations' International Day of Peace, local players join fans and players around the world to commemorate this auspicious day. Boys game Fair Play has a fundamental role in sport and there is a need to apply it to all sporting activities, especially children's activities. Children need strong values to grow up with, and football, being a team sport, makes them realise how essential discipline, respect, team spirit and fair play are for the game and for life. Small-sided matches were organized for both male and female groups, with the games proving to be very competitive, producing many goals. As spirited and as physically tough as the games were, what was pleasing about the event was the manner in which the players conducted themselves on and off the field, cheering each other on and congratulating good play throughout. The generic concept of fair play is a fundamental part of the game of football; as it represents the positive benefits of playing by the rules, using common sense and respecting fellow players, referees, opponents and fans. Girls game After the youth games, the National Development players were given a chance to test their skills against a more experienced group of players, they being - the coaches from the TCIFA youth programmes. What the older players lacked in speed, they made up for in finesse and "know-how"; and despite being 2-1 down at half time - they came back to lead 3-2 until a late penalty secured a 3-3 draw for the Development team. Stand out players for the boys were relative newcomers McKinley Gedeus and Elton Charles – who were very impressive during the day, especially in the final game against the coaches, with McKinley scoring twice and Elton the other goal. Ashlii Barnett and Pekiera Brooks played well for the girls, but the star of the day was Emannuella Meneide - who was the top goal scorer on the day and whose team won the girl's event. TCIFA President, Christopher Bryan, second from left, playing in the mix game As for the coaches' team, TCIFA president Christopher Bryan set up all three goals, which were scored by Sean Sullivan (2) and Matthew Green (1). When the games completed, all players lined up afterwards to shake hands, ending what was a successful day for the TCIFA - proving that we have competitive players that respect the laws and ethics of the world's most popular and loved sport: football.   Reads : 677 Back... Comments: No comments on this topic yet. Be the first one to submit a comment. Back... Send us your comments!   Send us your comments on this article for publication in our Readers' Forum or as a Letter to the Editor. All fields are required and in the interest of openness and transparency we will no longer accept anonymous submissions. We therefore request that all submissions include a name for publication, regardless of content. We will in special circumstances protect a writer's identity only after we have established good cause for anonymity, otherwise we will not be able to publish the submission. For your contribution to reach us, you must (a) provide a valid e-mail address and (b) click on the validation link that will be sent to the e-mail address you provide.  If the address is not valid or you don't click on the validation link, it will be a waste of your time typing your submission because we will never see it! Your Name: Your Email: (Validation required) Comments: Enter Validation Code *