Switzerland: The year 2018 marks the seventh edition of the children’s fair-play soccer tournament in South Switzerland, which UPF-Ticino has been organizing in the town of Novazzano since 2011. It hosted 12 teams of children between 9 and 11 years from Switzerland and nearby Italy.
Peace Cup Switzerland has overcome many challenges through the years; in 2018 UPF-Ticino was faced with the task of being introduced to an almost complete change of staff in the cooperating sports association of Novazzano. Happily we could experience that the fair-play values of the tournament have already become a tradition, so that many people know us and talk about us in the entire region. Even newspapers write positively about the Peace Cup, independently from the event.
The children’s tournament has a high educational goal of teaching practical values about peaceful competition that not only aims for team prizes, but includes the rewarding of fairness to all the participants involved in the matches. Especially remarkable was this year’s spectators’ tribune, where the relatives and friends of the children taking part spurred their children on with banners and lively sounds. We could hear cheers, horns and cow bells, but no insults! This is the reason why the Cantonal government of the state of Ticino has now recognized “Peace Cup by UPF-Ticino” as an activity to be listed among the initiatives for the prevention of violence.
With all the experience through the years, UPF-Ticino this year could give birth to a second Peace Cup tournament that was played for the first time in March in the nearby town of Malnate, a small town in Italy bordering on Switzerland. The young players were aged between 11 and 13 years, divided in 8 participating teams from both nations. As our chart of values defines, the winners of the Peace Cup Malnate were likewise selected by UPF-Ticino for their outstanding example of fair- play, concurring with the motto: “Play football, build Peace”
Please look at our reports, videos and pictures on: www.peacecup.upf-ticino.ch
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Report by Seraina Termine, UPF-Ticino