Pair of young fans to attend FIFA World Cup

FORMER TRINIDAD and Tobago football team defender Brent Sancho will be selecting and inviting two 12-year old football fans to attend the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia in June.

Sancho and his newly formed non-profit organisation, Sancho Sports Foundation, have been selected by the Football for Friendship (“F4F”) programme to be the official F4F operator in Trinidad.

Initiated by Russian company and FIFA partner Gazprom, F4F will host one young footballer and one young sports journalist from Trinidad for a World Championship and International Children’s Forum in Moscow from June 8-15. Now in its sixth year, the Football For Friendship (F4F) programme is aimed at fostering social values such as respect for other cultures and nations, equality and peace as well as encouraging young people to adopt healthy lifestyles.

Sancho will be responsible for selecting, coordinating, preparing and chaperoning the local delegation for the 2018 F4F Programme to be held in Russia in June. The two winners will be selected via a two-week long national competition (with entries via social media), culminating in a final competition occurring at ML Ball Park in Macoya on April 20 during a F4F International Day of Football event.

One 12-year-old budding footballer and one 12-year-old aspiring sports journalist will be chosen to represent TT at the various events during the all-expense paid trip to Moscow, including attendance at one of the 2018 World Cup opening games.

“It’s a trip of a lifetime for two youngsters from Trinidad and Tobago,” said Sancho, a former Minister of Sport. “When I was approached by the Organising Committee to arrange the TT delegation, I jumped at the chance.

“I can still recall the excitement of learning that I had been selected to go to the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany,” he continued. “So I can’t wait to see the faces of the two children who we select to go to Moscow in June.”

Sancho, who recently launched his Sports Foundation, expressed his continued desire to build communities through sport, saying, “I truly believe in sport as one of the most powerful tools to empower young people and this initiative with F4F is in total alignment with the vision of my Foundation.”

Children wishing to participate as either a footballer or journalist need to be born between April 2005 and September 2006 and must have a valid passport and approval to travel from their parents or legal guardian. More information about the competition guidelines and criteria will be released over the next couple days via the “Sancho Sports Foundation” page on Instagram and Facebook as well as major radio outlets.