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Inter-Boguchar win Russian MTG United for Peace qualifying tournament
On 9-10 September, Moscow football stadium "October" hosted the Russian qualifying tournament of the MTG United for Peace Cup. The winning team "Inter-Boguchar" from the Bogucharsky boarding school in the Voronezh region will go on to represent Russia in the MTG United for Peace Cup final in Norway next month.
The Russian qualifying tournament featured teams of 12-14 year olds from orphanages in the Pskov, Voronezh, Ryazan, Ivanovo, Kaluga and Tver regions and was organised by Viasat Sport (a channel of Viasat Broadcasting/MTG which is broadcast in Russia and CIS) with the support of the charity foundation ”Share the Warmth” and CSKA Moscow FC.
CSKA Moscow FC provided their stadium for the event and supported all the actual football matches, which were conducted strictly in accordance with FIFA regulations.
On day one of the tournament, the semi-finalists were decided: they were "Kalatch", the team of the Kalacheevsky boarding school from the Voronezh region, "Yesenin", the team of the Rybnovsky boarding school from the Ryazan region, "Kosmos", the team of the Velikoluksky boarding school from the Pskov area and "Inter-Boguchar", the team of the Bogucharsky boarding school from the Voronezh region. The first day also saw the CSKA Moscow FC player Evgeny Aldonin addressing the young footballers and offering words of encouragement.
The two teams to make it through to the final of the tournament were "Kosmos" and "Inter-Boguchar". During an intense match, both teams demonstrated great sporting skills. Players from CSKA Moscow FC - Vasily and Alexei Berezutski, Zoran Tosic, Kirill Nababkin, Alan Dzagoev, Elver Rahimic, Sekou Oliseh and Georgy Shennikov as well as CSKA Head Coach Leonid Viktorovich Slutskiy encouraged the finalists before the final game.
Having triumphed in the final, "Inter-Boguchar" now go on to represent Russia in the MTG United for Peace Cup Final in Norway where they will play against teams from Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, the UK and Africa. The MTG United for Peace Cup final tournament will be held between 7-10 October this year in Norway’s capital of Oslo. As well as football, the players from all the teams will attend events organised by the Nobel Peace Center and the Norwegian Red Cross.
The clouds and rain which were predicted in Moscow on the days of the tournament did not appear despite the fears of the organisers who had previously postponed the tournament due to high temperatures and smoke from the burning peat fields blanketing Moscow this summer. The official opening and raising of the flag was entrusted to Irina Gofman, CEO of MTG Russia & CIS, and Alexei Kroll, CEO of Viasat Russia & CIS, who addressed the children and wished them luck, as did Maria Kuzminova, President of "Share the Warmth”, and Roman Babaev, CEO of CSKA Moscow FC.
On day two of the tournament, the two semi finals and the final were held. Furthermore, the team coaches took part in a seminar organised by the professional coaches from CSKA Moscow FC, while the children from boarding schools and young visitors who attended the tournament with their parents were invited to participate in the School of Fans and support the young footballers together with volunteers and performers.
TV host Victoria Bonya presented the runners-up, Kosmos, witha T-shirt she herself had decorated in their team colours.–Kosmos also received a special prize – five days training at CSKA Moscow FC plus a chance to compete in a friendly match with young footballers from the club’s school.
Visitors to the tournament were treated to a concert which included performances from Rene, Yasha, Vladimir Brileva, “Gaudi” and “Legends PRO”.
All the participating children were presented with gifts from the organisers Viasat Sport, ”Share the Warmth” and CSKA Moscow FC.
The tournament was organised with the support of the Russian Football Premiere League.
