Smiling faces of children, passion for football and a great sporting adventure – on 8 May, on the pitches at 1 Sportowa Street, the Ekstraklasa Foundation in cooperation with FKS Stal Mielec S.A. are organising an event of the Ekstra Class Academies series. This is a project involving the organisation of football competitions for children with the support of each of the Ekstraklasa clubs. The main point of the event is a football tournament for U11 players, and for slightly younger U9 players a Funino tournament is organised.
This year’s Ekstra Class Academy tournaments are already the ninth edition of this project – the organiser of the event is the Ekstraklasa Foundation, and the project itself is financed by Ekstraklasa and the Ministry of Sport and Tourism. Over the course of three weeks, the organisers will visit each Ekstraklasa club – on each successive day being present in a different location. The first tournament will be played on Monday 6 May with Radomiak Radom – the 2024 Ekstra Class Academies will conclude on 26 May at the facilities of Legia Warsaw. The main aim of the project is to promote sport among children and young people, shape an active lifestyle and encourage the development of football skills.
All clubs are inviting their befriended academies from neighbouring towns or partner centres to play together. The oldest participants of the Ekstra Class Academy are players born in 2013, who play matches against each other in a tournament format. The matches take place on a 60×40 m playing field with 5×2 m goals – there can be seven players on the pitch per team (6+1 goalkeeper). The tournament usually involves 8 teams divided into two groups, playing matches “every man for himself”. The most important information, however, is that no score tables are kept during the tournament.
On the other hand, players up to the age of nine can enjoy playing football by participating in a Funino tournament. In line with the idea behind this methodology, the aim of the game is above all to encourage sportsmanship, develop football skills and stimulate the creativity needed both on the pitch and in everyday life. During such matches, there are three players per team on the pitch and the players try to score a point by placing the ball in one of the two goals. Most importantly, there are no referees in this tournament and no score tables are kept here either.
Pre-school children are also invited to take part in the fun, and they can spend an active time on the prepared obstacle courses or during animation games. The whole event is in fact a sporting family picnic, frequented not only by the competitors, but also their parents or carers. The event will be hosted by Dariusz Ślęzak (DJ Ucho), who as a DJ and announcer has hosted many popular sports events. The best possible warm-up will be taken care of by Kacper Lachowicz (Kacpa), a basketball coach – he has been co-leading Marcin GortatCamp since 2010.
During each of the events, additional attractions await the participants. As in previous years, there will be Teqball demonstrations by Poland’s representatives in this discipline. This will be a great opportunity to get to know this fascinating sport and try your hand at the game. Another of the prepared attractions is the Fitlight and Reaction Time zone – all participants of the Extra Class Academy project will be given the chance to try their hand at competitions using special equipment, allowing them to verify their reflexes and improve their coordination. The organisers have also taken care to prepare a multitude of inflatables (table football, football dart) or pitches enabling 1-on-1 play. Both younger and older participants are sure to find additional activities to enjoy even more at the Ekstra Class Academies.
Each player taking part in the Ekstra Class Academies can look forward to a range of gifts. First and foremost, all young athletes will receive their prizes for participating in the tournament from the coaches and invited guests on a grand stage in a festive setting. All participants receive a commemorative diploma, in addition to which the youngest athletes can enjoy a medal. Their older counterparts, meanwhile, win a trophy for their participation in the U11 tournament.
