YOUTH FUTSAL TAKEN TO THE VILLAGES

PRESS RELEASE – Hundreds of youth players, coaches, and supporters converged at the Talofofo gym for opening day of the inaugural Sengsong Summer Slam Village Futsal Tournament Saturday.

The new summer event, organized by Guam Football Association in collaboration with five villages in its first iteration, began with three U10 matches and three U12 matches.

“We are proud to host the first annual youth village futsal tournament in Talofofo,” said Vicente Taitague, mayor of Talofofo village. “We support our youth and believe this event will bring great energy and community spirit to our village.”

Participating villages are Agat, Dededo, Talofofo, Tamuning/Tumon/Harmon, and Yigo. The tournament takes a break for the Guam Liberation Day holiday weekend and continues July 26 at the Yigo gym. Each village will each host one Saturday of matches.

“It was a great turnout for the first-ever Sengsong Summer Slam – Talofofo hosted with great hospitality and the atmosphere was friendly and competitive,” said Fred Alig II, GFA Executive Committee member and Chairperson of the GFA Futsal & Beach Soccer Committee. “It was awesome watching the youth engage and adjust to futsal rules and the game itself. I enjoyed observing how the youth referees also took part officiating the matches. Everyone is learning and I’m happy to see the youth play and enjoy futsal.

“Our main objective is to create a strong partnership with the villages by using futsal as a platform to promote a healthy lifestyle through exercise and fitness, as well as provide alternatives to deter drug and substance abuse. Eventually, we’d like to expand and develop futsal for everyone,” Alig added.

The Sengsong Summer Slam is part of GFA’s four-year strategic plan in growing participation: establish village youth festival and community festival for youth and adults across the island.

For youth players interested in joining a team, Yigo still has open slots available. For more information about Yigo’s teams or to sign up, please contact Serina Lizama at 671-653-9119 or 671-487-2125.

The event schedule is available on GFA’s official Web site at https://guamfa.com/events/