Aj Boy Victoriano and Matteo De Venecia, the selected 12-year-old young ambassadors from Philippines, will be on their way to Russia on June 8 to participate in the 6th Gazprom Football for Friendship International Programme.
They will be joined by kids from over 210 countries around the world, in Moscow.
Victoriano, selected in the role of a midfielder will be a part of the 32 International Teams of Friendship that play against each other in the Gazprom Football for Friendship International Championship. The young footballer will be a part of the “Komodo Dragon” team, and will undergo a 3 day training camp in Moscow, to get used to the playing conditions and get ample practice with his team, before the start of the championship. Each International Team of Friendship will be trained by 14-16 year old young coaches from different countries. The young footballers will also participate in workshops and sessions, conducted by renowned celebrities.
At the F4F Programme in Russia, he will be accompanied by De Venecia, who will act as a young journalist and cover all the local and global activities of the program as part of the International Children’s Press Center. The Press Centre acts as hub for the young journalists who gather information, make reports, write news articles and prepare materials on the initiatives implemented as part of the Programme.
De Venecia is a sports enthusiast who hails from Metro Manila. Matteo who belongs to a sports loving family, started playing football when he was 4 years old. A player of Team Socceroo FC, he believes that football has helped him to learn about teamwork and sportsmanship at a young age. Apart from football, Matteo also likes to play baseball, ultimate frisbee and basketball. A student of PAREF Southridge School, Matteo has been appointed as one of the officers of the Grade School Student Council. An admirer of Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern Munich football clubs, he considers Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andre Iniesta and Ian Robben as his favourite players. In his free time, Matteo likes to play video games, go for a swim, read interesting books and go for a bike ride with his friends.
Aj Boy Victoriano and Matteo De Venecia will also participate in the Sixth Football for Friendship International Children’s Forum in Russia, which will provide the youngsters an opportunity to meet their peers from other countries, share their experiences, and discuss with famous footballers and journalists on how to promote key values of the F4F Programme around the world. The International Children’s F4F Forum will be participated by famous sportsmen, journalists, and public figures who support the project and provide their thoughts and inspiration to the young athletes.
The young ambassadors will also participate in the Nine Values School programme, where they will be taught about the 9 key values of the F4F programme (friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions and honour, under the guidance of young coaches and the supervision of famous players.