T

he Indonesian men’s national team has won its first-ever Richard Ishmail Fair Play Award at the Homeless World Cup. The trophy was presented directly by Homeless World Cup president Mel Young.

Team manager Yana Suryana acknowledged that the trophy was a bit unexpected.

“For us, it means more than all other trophies at the event,” Yana said Sunday.

Since Indonesia first participated in the event in 2011, the team had never received the award, he said, adding that he was in the dark regarding the criteria for determining the winner.

“But one thing’s for sure, the Indonesian team has never been handed cards in the competition, nor has it protested,” he said.

Other awards were presented at the event, with the Colombian national team winning the award for Best Newcomer.

The Indonesian side, which finished 10th in the tournament, comprised Rizal Ferdian Somawijaya, 24, Eva Dewi Rahmadiani, 34, Dego Z. Arifin, 25, Adam Riyadi, 21, Miftaul Maarif, 19, M. Fajar Priatna, 25, Samsu Rizal, 26, and Yandi Abdul Rajad, 24.

The players come from various backgrounds that made them eligible to compete in the competition — some come from poor families, some are former drug users or convicts and others have been diagnosed with HIV.

Yana said the trophy only symbolized the greater goal of the team’s involvement in the tournament.

“The reward comes from the acknowledgement that the values we believe in are […] appreciated by others,” he said.

Indonesia was eliminated from the Homeless World Cup in a 9-3 loss to Russia. The first half of the match was competitive for Indonesia, which took a 1-0 lead through Dego Z. Arifin’s goal in the early minutes before Russia tallied two in a row.

Dego equalized in the sixth minute and Rizal Ferdian Somawijaya added another goal to regain the lead for Indonesia at 3-2. However, Russia scored two unanswered goals to end the half up 4-3.

The second half saw Russia completely dominate — it scored five goals and stymied any chance of an Indonesian attack to win the game 9-3.