Two Bangladeshi kids selected for Football For Friendship programme in Russia

Mohammad Golam Rafi Khan and Rafat Shams, 12-year old football enthusiasts from Bangladesh, have been selected as the country’s representatives for the global Football For Friendship (F4F) social programme. The F4F programme, supported by Gazprom and Fifa, aims at developing youth football and a healthy lifestyle, as well as promoting tolerance, open-mindedness and respect of different cultures and nationalities between children from across the globe. Bangladesh joins the programme for the second time and will participate alongside 210 other countries and regions. Rafi will join young footballers from around the world in Moscow in June this year. The children will be a part of the 32 international teams of friendship and play against each other in the Gazprom Football For Friendship International Championship. The friendly tournament aims to bring together children from around the world and celebrate the unifying spirit of football. Rafat will act as the young journalist and report on all the local and global activities of the F4F programme as part of the International Children's Press Centre. He will also spread awareness on the nine values (friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions and honour) of the F4F programme.

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Rafi and Rafat will also participate in the sixth Football For Friendship International Children's Forum in Russia, which will allow youngsters 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 sixth season of the F4F programme will conclude with a visit by the participating children to the opening ceremony and the first match of the Fifa World Cup 2018, to be contested between host Russia and Saudi Arabia at Luzhniki Stadium on June 14. Speaking on the selection of the young ambassadors by Bangladesh Football Federation, Harunur Rashid, Ex-Co Member, BFF, said, “The selection of the young ambassadors from Bangladesh is an extension of our support to this unique global initiative. The programme is a wonderful opportunity for the ambassadors to build ties of friendship among children from around the world and foster peace and harmony through the beautiful game of football. We wish our young ambassadors all the best for the programme and look forward to their contribution in promoting the key values of the programme, in Russia, as well as in Bangladesh.”