girls football festival

This New Year we were pleased to receive a group of 20 young, female football players from SALT in Battambang. The girls led a half-day football festival aimed at bringing other teens on the field for the first time. There was no reason for girls in Poipet not to attend! No team? No problem. No money? No need. No skills? That's ok! Just come and learn!

Kick. Play. Smile. Repeat.

At 2pm the fields were prepared with five stations to teach different soccer skills. The visiting group had also prepared cones to create small games. At first the forty participants from Poipet seemed nervous. However, Sam Schweingruber from SALT Academy divided the girls into teams and then the players from Battambang took responsibility. They coached, led mini games and prepared a 'life lesson' at each station. I was impressed that they spoke to their peers from their own experiences about issues such as trafficking, hygiene and drugs. Afterwards, some of the Poipet girls had a friendly game with the Battambang team.

The Girls' Football Festival confirmed that there are some females in Poipet who are eager to play football! It's a new experience. But kick, play, smile seemed to trump the two common alternatives of sitting on the sidelines watching the guys play or staying at home doing nothing! The more experienced young players from Battambang enabled Poipet girls to dare to try.