Countdown to Moscow for the Overnewton Journalists

Year 7 student, Noah Borg, and College Head of Sport, Nikki Little, have commenced their journey to Moscow as part of the Australian delegation who will be attending the 2018 Gazprom Football for Friendship Program.

Article by Nikki Little

Year 7 student, Noah Borg, and College Head of Sport, Nikki Little, have commenced their journey to Moscow as part of the Australian delegation who will be attending the 2018 Gazprom Football for Friendship Program. This global initiative, which takes place in the lead up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, will unite delegates from 211 countries through football and reinforce the significance of nine key values, including friendship, equality and peace.

Noah will represent Australia as a Young Journalist and, while in Moscow, will complete a three day Friendship Camp at the International Children’s Press Centre. Young journalists in the press centre cover the events of the program in their countries, prepare news for national and international sports media, participate in the creation of materials for the Football for Friendship TV channel, the children's Football for Friendship newspaper, and the program's official radio station.

At the 2018 Children’s Forum, children and adults will discuss the promotion and development of the program's values throughout the world. During the forum, children will meet and speak with their peers from other countries, famous footballers, journalists and public figures, and also become young ambassadors, who in the future will continue to independently promote universal values among their peers.

Noah will be a roving reporter at the Football for Friendship World Championship where ‘friendship teams’ are organised on the principle of Football for Friendship: athletes of different nationalities, sex and physical abilities play in the same team. Noah will support his new friend Luca Durso, Australia’s Young Player, who is part of the African Wild Dog team with children from Russia, Paraguay, Chinese Taipei, Grenada and Haiti. Each of the 32 International Friendship Teams are named after endangered animals of all the continents of the world.

The culmination of this once in a lifetime opportunity is a role in the Opening Ceremony of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and tickets to the opening match, Russia versus Saudi Arabia. For a passionate footballer like Noah, this event will cap off an incredible week of literacy, football and values education.

This will be an incredible experience for both Noah and Nikki and we wish them all the very best as they embark on this adventure. We look forward to hearing some wonderful stories when they return.