The Football for Hope Festival 2010 came to a close to the sound of 300 drums. The concert, performed by all the delegates and led by 1st Project, was the participants’ touching way of thanking their host community of Alexandra. Members of the community came out in droves to support the young players over the course of the week.

The tournament ended with two exciting final games: Espérance defeated Grassroot Soccer 2-1 to win the Alexandra Cup, and MYSA faced Search and Groom for the honour of taking home the Festival Trophy.

The final match ended in a nail-biting penalty shoot out. MYSA, the reigning champions from the streetfootballworld festival 06, won the game 3-2.

The most important prize
Despite the two big wins by Espérance and MYSA, a standing ovation was reserved for Spirit of Soccer. The beloved Cambodian delegation was voted by its peers as most deserving of the Fair Play Award.

For Alex, for the world
Representatives from the 2010 Organising Committee and the City of Johannesburg were on hand to present the delegates with souvenirs of their time at the festival and in Alexandra, and to present the Alex Cup. streetfootballworld Managing Director Jürgen Griesbeck and FIFA Head of CSR Federico Addiechi handed out the Fair Play trophy and the Festival 2010 trophy to the winning teams.

“I hope all of you will remember this moment,” Jürgen told the young delegates. “All of you will go home now, and you will carry this experience back with you, and you will have the responsibility to help change lives in your communities.”