Pleven hosted the launch of the children’s football initiative „Hristo Stoichkov: The Road to the Stars“, organized on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the winning of the „Golden Ball“ by legendary Bulgarian footballer Hristo Stoichkov. The event was held on the „Vazrazhdane“ square, which for one day turned into a football field.
The sports tournament included first and second grade children. Many school teams took part in the competition, and the winner was one of the teams from the „Vasil Levski“ school. Over 130 goals were scored during the championship, with teams consisting of three field players without a goalkeeper, which increased contact with the ball and made the game more attractive to the children.
President of „Bulgarian Football Tournaments“ /BFT/ Dimitar Nikolov commented to Iskra.bg that the organization has been working together with Hristo Stoichkov for many years.
„We are developing amateur football together, thanks to his support. The children’s tournament is part of our efforts to promote football among children,“, Nikolov explained.
The president of the BFT stressed that the idea of the tournament is to give children more contact with the ball and to have more attractiveness so that they can get passionate about the game of football. He also said that more such events are expected to be held in the country, as there are already inquiries from Vratsa, Troyan, Montana, Lovech and other cities. Special emphasis was placed on the importance of holding tournaments in central squares in different cities, which contributes to attracting more audience and interest in the event.
The organizers of the event are „Bulgarian Football Tournaments“ together with „Power to Wind“ and „Power to X“, which are general partners of the initiative. The founders of the companies „Powertox“ and „Power to Wind“ – Eng. Stefan Gochev and Petar Genov, provided the 15×10 m football field, which was the main scene of the football matches.
With the „Hristo Stoichkov: The Road to the Stars“ initiative the organizers aim to encourage the love of football and offer children the opportunity to develop their skills and have fun through sport.
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