Filipino kid Aj Boy Victoriano was one of the spearheads of the Komodo Dragon team that made the finals of the 6th Gazprom Football for Friendship International Championship at the Sapsan Arena Stadium in Moscow.
Victoriano, in his role as a midfielder, played alongside booters from Brazil, Wales, Kenya, Dominican Republic and Guinea-Bissau as Komodo Dragon qualified to the finals.
However, they fell short in the championship round by a goal and had to settle for a runner-up spot.
"I am happy to have been given the opportunity to participate in the Football for Friendship program in Moscow. It has helped me to make a lot of friends from different countries and play football with them. The 3-day training program before the championship has helped me improve and learn new football skills which I will use in my future matches. The championship was very exciting and I am happy to have performed well for my team. This has been an amazing experience and I look forward to participate in more tournaments in the future," said Victoriano.
The young footballer, who was joined in the trip by young journalist Matteo De Venecia, had to undergo an intensive training program with other participants for three days. In these training camps, called International Friendship Camp, the young ambassadors were sorted into teams of different cultures and interacted with kids from 211 countries and regions. They also got an opportunity to take part in master classes and lectures conducted by renowned dignitaries.
The Friendship Camp also saw the activation of The International Children's press center, participated by the young journalists who reported on the activities of the day.
The journalist was also a part of master classes conducted by leading media channels, which taught the young journalists how to report.
The training days also focussed on the ecological initiatives, supported by F4F. These initiatives which were explained through special lectures were aimed to make the young ambassadors aware and alert about the problems of the environment.