Recently our year end soccer tournament wrapped up and was a great community event! We invited teams from the area to participate with GOALS teams and the theme was Protecting the Environment.

 The purpose of the tournament was to not only provide the kids with a meaningful soccer competition beyond playing each other, but to also promote our programs to the greater Léogâne community by inviting other soccer teams to participate. 

 23 teams took part in the tournament with 16 teams from GOALS and 7 invited local teams.   You can check out images from the tournament here.

 This was the first time that GOALS Haiti organized a such a big tournament with invited teams outside of our programs.  The emphasis of the championship wasn’t just about competition but it was an opportunity for teams to join together for a bigger cause. After each match, the kids were encouraged to pick up trash to show their commitment to the environment, which was the main message of the championship. The hope is that by modeling this simple behavior, other kids who are not a part of the GOALS family would also give the environment the importance it deserves.

 Here is the tournament breakdown:

 With great fanfare and an almost carnival-like atmosphere filled with music, GOALS Academy and GOALS Destra were the two teams that made it to the finals on December 7th at CFC.  After a hard-fought battle, GOALS Academy came out victorious 2-0, with two goals scored in the last few minutes of play.  When the final whistle sounded, the girls were happy to receive their first-place medals.

 U13 Girls:

GOALS CFC

GOALS Destra

GOALS Bossan

GOALS Academy
Respire

 U13 Boys:
GOALS CFC

GOALS Destra

GOALS Bossan

GOALS Academy

Do-Kre-I-S
Respire

Exafoot

Following the girls’ final earlier that day of the 7th of December, it was the turn for the boys and Respire and GOALS Academy were the two teams to reach the final match.  Respire easily won the final 3-0 and they were declared champion for that category.

 U18 Girls:

GOALS CFC

GOALS Destra

GOALS Bossan

Respire

USD

 On December 8th, the final game was held on the turf field in Gressier between GOALS Bossan and Respire.  It was another festive environment with lots of supporters, the two teams were almost equal as they played to a scoreless draw for most of the game.  It took a few minutes before the end of the game for GOALS Bossan to score and to hold on for the victory.  Each player received a medal and the team received a trophy, which they were thrilled to show off.

 U18 Boys:

GOALS CFC

GOALS Destra

GOALS Bossan

Mania Foot

Respire

USD

Exafoot

Do-Kre-I-S

 The older boys’ final was held on the same field following the older girls’ final earlier in the day. Two teams, Do-Kre-I-S and Respire, emerged from a crowded field of competitive teams to make it to the final match. Once again, it was a great match filled many opportunities to score.  In the end, it was Respire that came out victorious and they went home with the trophy.

 We would like to thank water distributor Culligan, Caribbean Bottling Company, for sponsoring the championship by donating gallons of purified water for our kids, coaches and referees.

 The championship was a huge success and we hope to have it again next year.

Happy New Year!