Background

In the beginning of April 2002 the seemingly quiet, even boring life in a small municipality like Rakovski was disturbed by a great event. For the first time ever in Bulgaria an International Children s Football Tournament - Rakovski 2002 took place under the auspices of the municipality, with the cooperation and support of the Catholic Church, the State Agency for Youth and Sport, MP Nonka Matova and young people from the community. The motto was United by football . 8 teams took part in the tournament 4 Bulgarian and 4 foreign ones. Bulgaria was represented by Rakovski Football Club; Lokomotiv Pd PFC; Botev PFC and Litex FC. The foreign teams were Tremoli FC Italy; Rouh FC Poland; Hibernias FC Malta and Maximir FC Malta.

Practice

The Tournament was opened on April 2, 2002 with a ceremonial lithurgy and a blessing in one of the biggest cathedrals in the town of Rakovski St. Archangel Michael . The church was as crowded as if it had been a Christian holiday. The most exciting time was when the priests of different nationalities called upon their teams, each in their own language to offer a prayer for health, well-being and in the name of friendship. At this moment the children s faces were radiant with joy. Everyone present was aware that there are no religious or state boundaries for friendship.

After the ceremonial mass the eight teams were escorted to the town stadium by a brass band and girls in folk costumes, carrying the national flags of each of the participating countries. The streets were full of people, young and old alike, who had left their work on the fields to witness the event. For seven days there was an endless holiday in the municipality of Rakovski.

What was the aim of this tournament in fact? The main motive was not the sports event or the competitive moment. It was rather the desire to break up the stereotypes and the way of living of the young people from the municipality of Rakovski. To challenge their thinking and their motivation for a new behavior open not only to their own problems but also to the problems of their friends around the world. To say No to alcohol, cigarettes and drugs and Yes to healthy living and sport. To treat each other with understanding and overcome the differences in nationality and religion.

During the seven days of the tournament the town celebrated. The final day was the most exciting. Neither the bad weather, nor the rain could cancel the event. The final match was the host team Rakovski FC against Rouch FC from Poland. The team from Poland outrivaled Rakovski with better technique and won the victory through penalties. The boys from Rakovski took the second place cup with eyes full of tears but they hug their rivals and wished for a victory in the following matches to be held in Germany and Italy.

Results

The first International Football Tournament - Rakovski 2002 set a new beginning in the relationships of young people from Rakovski with children from different nationalities and religions from other European countries. This would not have been possible without the determination of Mayor Franz Kokov and the cooperation of the young people. The next steps will be to establish a twinning relationship between Rakovski and Tremoli, which will be a long and difficult process. The recognition for the brilliant organization of the tournament came from Italy with a letter of thanks to the mayor and to everybody who helped conducting the event.