Two Indonesian youngsters, Muhammad Raffa Rolly Casillas and Alfonso Hizkia Kaleb Hutabarat, both aged 12, said they had a once-in-a-lifetime experience that taught them the core values of sport and life.

Raffa, who was selected from dozens of his peers, is a goalkeeper, while Alfonso is a young journalist. Both participated in the sixth edition of the Football for Friendship World Championship, a two-day event that was held at the Sapsan Arena in Moscow from June 12 to 13.

“It never crossed my mind that I would travel this far to Moscow and participate in this event. Making new friends from various nationalities and learn valuable lessons. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Raffa told journalists on the sidelines of the tournament, which was open to children from 211 countries.

He recalled that the selection process was tough. Raffa, who is still registered as a student at the Firman Utina Football Academy, had mixed feelings when he was selected. First and foremost, he was super excited but quickly realized that he was now in a total new league.

“Whenever I encountered a language barrier, I normally gestured to my new friends. I was grateful that they could comprehend,” he said.

Even though his team, the Grizzly Bears, didn’t pass the qualifiers, Raffa acknowledged that he had learned the value of friendship, teamwork, discipline and bravery at the tournament. He added that through his role as a goalie he had to give directions to his teammates, which was one of the most challenging parts.

Raffa said he was nervous and could not give clear directions to his teammates. And that, he added, had resulted in a weak defense, which the opposing team benefited from.

Akram Guillermo Potmis of Curacao, Raffa’s coach, saw him in a slightly different light. In Akram’s opinion, Raffa demonstrated excellent skill as a goalie.

“He is very quick. Some goals were scored but it wasn’t entirely his fault. He stopped many goals from being scored. I believe that he is going to be a professional goalkeeper,” said Akram, 14, who trained with Manchester United.

However, Akram suggested that Raffa needed to be more active and speak louder when giving directions to his teammates during games.

He agreed that language had been a barrier, especially for those children who did not speak English as a first language. That was why, he added, he needed to show them his instructions instead of just telling them what to do.

To complement his experience, Raffa was picked to join a parade of children at the opening ceremony of FIFA World Cup that was held at the Luzhniki Stadium, which was seen by more than 78,000 spectators and billions more at homes. Above all, the whole Moscow experience had solidified his passion to be a great goalkeeper.

Commenting on this, Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) secretary-general Ratu Tisha Destria, who was in Moscow for a FIFA congress, appreciated the invitation that had allowed Indonesian children to learn soccer values on the international stage.

Full support: Chairman of Gazprom’s board of directors Victor Zubkov delivers a speech during the Football for Friendship International Children’s Forum at the Moskvarium oceanography and marine biology center in Moscow on Wednesday. (Courtesy of Football for Friendship)

Ratu said Raffa was on PSSI’s radar and the association would monitor his career.  She also added that the world championship had also been in line with the association’s plan to build a proper environment for domestic soccer that in time would encourage the growth of young, talented players and also quality referees.

As for Alfonso, being a young journalist had allowed him to meet and talk with many people and that has spurred him on to become a reporter.

“Conducting interviews with so many people, knowing others’ mind are among the values that I have learned the most from being a journalist. Teamwork is part of this role and it taught me the power of communication,” he said.

During the tournament, Alfonso was tasked to report on the 32 soccer teams that participated in the tournament.

The tournament was won by the Chimpanzee group.

Alfonso, whose dad is also a journalist, said he would like to become a journalist when he grows up.

After the tournament, the children were invited to a children’s forum that was held at the Moskvarium oceanography and marine biology center.

Top Spanish goalie Iker Casillas and famous Syrian player Firas al Khatib, as well as the chairman of board of directors of Gazprom, Victor Zubkov, were among the guests at the forum. Zubkov told the forum attendees that the event was very important.

“The event supports youth sports, promotes healthy lifestyles and teaches children to respect people of different nationalities and cultures.”

 More than 1,500 children from the ages of 12 to 14 from six continents were invited to Moscow to gather as part of the global initiative to promote a healthy lifestyle and core values like friendship, fairness and tolerance. The children played the roles of soccer players, coaches and young journalists.