Did you know that another name for football is ‘soccer’ or ‘football association’? Where two teams of 11 players play against each other. Education and sports both are important for school students as both give them knowledge, and life skills and prepare them for their future. The inter-school football tournament is the best platform for the students to enhance their learning phase. With the learning phase, they also get a fun childhood memory as they will get the chance to cheer for their school’s team which will make the field turn into a big stadium-like surrounding, they have the passion; they just need a good platform from where they can follow their passion.
This event is like a celebration of the talent of the young youth, teamwork, and of course, sportsmanship! But what exactly is an inter-school football tournament? Why and how should a school conduct it? Let us explore.
WHAT does an Inter-School football tournament mean?
An inter-school football tournament means two or more schools compete with each other, schools can be from any district, town, city, state, or even international level. This way students will learn healthy competition, skills that they will need always in their upcoming life, strategic plays, determination, sportsmanship, identifying their talents, learning from their grassroots, celebrating small wins, and learning how to push their limits.
Every school selects its best students as a team to send for the inter-college football tournament. Every school inter-school football tournament has different rules and regulations, also the format of the tournament might be different. Some may have a knockout format or some may have round-robin leagues. This tournament is of few days with a lot of heart-stopping performances. This tournament is not just a game but it is a bridge that connects every school.
WHY schools should conduct an Inter-School football tournament?
Every player idol is a popular top performer like Lionel Messi, Megan Rapinoe, or Cristiano Ronaldo, and not any local player. But everyone forgets that each of them started from a local school pitch. Even their passion for football started from their school age. They just needed only one push and that was their own belief in themselves.
- Build self-confidence in students – 11 to 20 is the right age when a person starts building up their self-confidence, they learn to give their best in the field. Once they compete and succeed in this type of platform they build self-esteem.
- Learn important skills – It is a platform where they learn important skills like strategy making, time management, stress handling, acceptance of victory and defeats, teamwork, discipline, and many other things. This will prepare them for their upcoming competitive world.
- Teamwork and leadership – Through this tournament they will learn to work in a team, as football is a team sport. It also teaches leadership qualities by watching their senior players and coaches.
- Exposure and scholarship – This type of tournament attracts sports organizations, coaches, and scouts who are looking for young talented players. Often this exposure gives a student a door-opening chance and even a scholarship.
- Exchange of culture – The tournaments which are at national and regional levels get the opportunity to exchange culture with everyone as different students from different regions and backgrounds participate.
- Unfit to fit – Many students do not have much time to exercise, and because of that most high schoolers are physically not fit. So for sure, allowing the students to play football in school will be beneficial for them, this way they will be physically fit.
- Discipline – Regular practice and following rules build a sense of discipline in a child.
HOW to smoothly conduct an Inter-School football tournament?
Many schools already conduct Inter-School Football Tournaments, one of the popular ones is Bokaro Ispat Vidyalaya, Jharkhand which hosts the Subroto Cup which is an international tournament. The next, popular on the list is Vellore International School, Chennai. Just like them, any other school can conduct a smooth tournament by simply following these steps –
- Choose a venue – Select a field that meets safety and regulation standards.
- Invite participators – Once a field is chosen, start making a plan of whom to invite as participators, prepare an invitation with all your rules and regulations in it, and once ready then send it to the schools.
- Form a team – Prepare a few teams like, a team to manage schedules, a team of referees, and logistics is essential.
- Prepare a set of rewards – This will excite the players to win, so arrange medals, one glory trophy, and certificates for all to motivate all the participators.
- Announcements – Advertise through newsletters, and share stories and posts on social media, and local media.
Did you know even some popular footballers started their journey in this type of tournament? If we look at their past, even they faced a lot of problems challenges, failures, and countless hours of tiring practice. They became the idols of the new generation now and their schools got popular as they were the students of that school. They teach every student to believe in their dreams and months of hard work.
Conclusion
Education and sports both are important for school students as both give them knowledge, and life skills and prepare them for their future. The inter-school football tournament is the best platform for the students to enhance their learning phase. An inter-school football tournament means two or more schools compete with each other, schools can be from any district, town, city, state, or even international level. Where two teams of 11 players play against each other. This way students will learn healthy competition, sportsmanship, and identify their talents.
Every school selects its best students as a team to send for the tournament. Every school tournament has different rules and regulations, also the format of the tournament might be different. Some may have a knockout format or some may have round-robin leagues. Schools should conduct such events so that they learn valuable skills that will help them in their upcoming future. To conduct a tournament, schools should read and follow the steps mentioned above.