South American youth promote fair play on street

By Daniela Desantis

ASUNCION (Reuters) - Imagine a soccer championship without referees where goals are celebrated by both teams and winning is less important than respect for your opponents.

This philosophy is preached by the organizers of the second South American Street Football Meeting in the Paraguayan capital, which ended on Saturday.

The event, held on one of the main avenues of Asuncion, brought together 180 young people aged up to 22 from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Peru plus guest teams from Germany and South Africa.

"The idea basically is to generate change through football," said Vladimir Borkovic, a member of streetfootballworld, a Berlin-based organization that promotes the event.

"Football is the means, the tool to promote development, citizen participation and the integration of young people," he told Reuters.

POINTS AWARDED

The matches, which last for two halves of seven minutes each, follow a special ritual. Before each match the players, five per team who must include at least one woman, discuss what rules should apply.

At the end of the game, they all meet again to reflect on the action and, with the help of a mediator, give points to the teams for the different aspects of their performance.