global.streetfootballworld - festival 06
festival 06
Berlin-Kreuzberg, July 2-8: A big stage for the streetfootballworld network
The festival 06 was the streetfootballworld’s network biggest highlight in the World Cup year 2006. July 2nd through July 8th, 22 social football projects from five continents met in Berlin-Kreuzberg to play against each other in the first street football World Cup. The games were played 5 on each side in an especially built street football stadium on the Mariannenplatz, which was able to hold over 2500 fans. The festival acted as a stage for the participating organizations who were able to demonstrate the potential of football within their innovative local work in front of the large audience and the over 800 accredited journalists.
The project was largely funded by the Bundeskulturstiftung, the DFB Kulturstiftung, the National Ministry for family, seniors, women and youth, the foundation Jugendfußball, as well as the FIFA Football for Hope movement.
A fair play tournament
Tolerance, international understanding and fair play were in the foreground of the event that was an official element of the FIFA’s 2006 art and culture program. Before every game the two participating teams decided on the rules together since referees were never used. Do girls’ goals count double? Where are the playing boundaries? How are fouls called? If rules were broken, the players had to note them themselves. In difficult situations, 3 independent and neutral “teamers” helped solve the problem.
An intercultural experience
The intercultural dialogue between the 16 to 21-year-old participants, that started a week before the first game was played, was another concentration of the event. Mixed rooms in the festival 06- team village, shared meals, and a multi-facetted framework allowed many opportunities for interacting with each other. A key moment of the intercultural exchange was during the international Murga preparation and performance at the closing ceremony of the festival 06. For a week 50 participants practiced the South American street dance and integrated their own ideas, music and dance styles. The international Murga workshops were organized by the two streetfootballworld network partners Defensores del Chaco (Argentina) and KICK FORWARD (Baden-Württemberg).
All eyes on Africa
The Copa Andrés Escobar, named after the Colombian football player who was murdered in 1994, went to the Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA) from Kenya. In a completely African run finale, MYSA ended up winning against the project KickAIDS from South Africa after a tense penalty shoot out. Not only during the festival 06 finale were all eyes focused on Africa since the preparations for festival 2010 in South Africa have already begun. The ball just keeps on rolling.
More information on festival 06?
Photos of festival 06
- a photo gallery of the first street football World Cup
Final placements of festival 06
Download (.pdf, 71 kb)
Who was playing who? - the schedule for festival 06 with all results
Download (.pdf, 101 kb)
The 24 festival 06 teams - Short descriptions of all participating organisations
Download (.pdf, 117 kb)
Photo galleries, pictures of the day and more festival feeling at:
www.festival06.org.
Press releases and more background information can be found on
"media".
