'Uniting friends - uniting the world!' - Gazprom International Children's Social Programme Football for Friendship goes digital

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Gazprom F4F

Official UEFA Champions League sponsor Gazprom held their Open Draw event on Friday for the first ever Football for Friendship eWorld Championship.

Youngsters aged 10-14, from over 100 countries, will compete for the title in the eighth season of the F4F competition, with the winners receiving tickets to the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final in Istanbul.

Players will be able to play in real time with other footballers from around the world, create and manage teams, become fans and support their friends’ teams in the virtual stands.

Gazprom kids

Gazprom’s international children’s social programme Football for Friendship, founded in 2013, heads into its eighth season this year and has already united over 6,000 participants from 211 countries and over five million supporters.

Matteo De Venecia (Philippines), Kinley Deki Yangzom (Bhutan), Irintsoa Rakotomamonjy (Madagascar) and Evgenia Gorbunova (Russia) conducted the draw for the 2020 competition, which saw 32 International Teams of Friendship split into eight groups of four.

As is tradition, the teams were named after rare animals to raise awareness for endangered species around the world.

The events were announced by special guests and ambassadors of the project: World Cup and UEFA Champions League winner Roberto Carlos; Adviser to the President of the Russian Football Union, Alexey Smertin; Head of Football Education Services at UEFA, Frank Ludolph; and professional FIFA player for FC Schalke 04, Tim 'Tim Latka' Schwartmann.

Gazprom Roberto Carlos

The game will go on general release on December 10, World Football Day, and will be available on MS Windows, Apple MacOS, Android and iOS.

The new multiplayer football simulator is based on the most important values of the programme and is packed with special features. 

For the first time, users in different countries will be able to participate in games according to the Football for Friendship rules.

Football for Friendship World will be promoted with the motto ‘Uniting friends, uniting the world!’

“In the context of a global pandemic, the Football for Friendship World is not just an interesting game but a platform for children, thanks to which they will not lose touch with each other and can even make new friends,” said Roberto Carlos, Global Ambassador of the programme.

“The new football simulator is part of a huge programme, the idea of which is to support and motivate children around the planet. An excellent game that will give unforgettable emotions of a football competition. There anyone can find something interesting, whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, a football fan, or even a coach. Football for Friendship World is a game for everyone.”

Follow all the key F4F events and news at http://footballforfriendship.com

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