A Love Affair with Soccer

Soccer is big in Indonesia.

It's the nation's favorite game, and serves as the perfect icebreaker for any conversation. Be prepared, though, that most Indonesians will know more about international teams and results than you do. Sports sections in the main Indonesian newspapers can compete with the international news when it comes to size, and there are best-selling weekly magazines dedicated to nothing but reporting the latest from the world of soccer. Most boys know the names of all players of their favorite team and have their idol's jersey if they can afford it.

Aceh Province is no exception to Indonesia's love affair with the checkered ball. So organizing a soccer league for schools as part of Mercy Corps' youth programming here was an obvious thing to do. After all, it was guaranteed to be a success.

Children return from their summer break to school in early August, but school only starts in earnest after Indonesia's Independence Day on August 17th. As a result, the days before are the perfect time for a soccer tournament between schools.

The tournament Mercy Corps organized took place in Darussalam in Banda Aceh, where many children displaced by the tsunami have been going to school. Elementary and middle schools took place, with children aged 9 to 13. In all, 16 schools with 240 kids participated.

The soccer field for the tournament was a simple large grassy area between trees, one used by several schools for sport activities. Goals were makeshift structures of wooden beams tied together and field boundaries were marked by flags dedicated by Mercy Corps for the event.

As befits any proper tournament, the games were started with a ceremony of speeches. Members of the organizing sports union as well as Mercy Corps' Social Revitalization Program Coordinator in Banda Aceh gave short speeches.

The tournament was organized as a triple elimination system, allowing teams that lose in the beginning to continue playing. A total of 34 games were played, with two games per day over the course of 17 days.

At the end of the tournament, a simple ceremony for the winners was conducted, opening with traditional dance performances from students. Winners received trophies and small prizes of cash. Prizes went to the three best players and the team that won the tournament.

Each game was followed by a group of spectators - girls from the same school, parents, teachers and the teams whose turn to play was yet to come. Intense discussions on strategy, strengths and weaknesses of the teams playing could be heard in the crowd. Deliberations ensued about how offside was being used strategically by one team, or how the other team needed to improve their defense.

Mercy Corps organized this tournament as part of an overall sports program, aimed at providing tsunami survivors of all ages - especially children - with activities that would take their minds off their losses and ongoing difficulties. These activities also help heal their trauma by encouraging positive social interaction. Nike contributed to this effort by providing 1,000 soccer balls.

In a common, rousing love for soccer, everyday worries were forgotten, and everyone cheered their teams on.