On Saturday, tournament matches in indoor football for boys born in 1997–98 and 1993–94 were held in Bolesławiec and Nowogrodziec. The 1997–98 age group competed in the sports hall at Primary School No. 1 in Bolesławiec. The Organizers’ Gala Cup was won by Olimpijczyk Wałbrzych. UKS Kusy Bolesławiec finished second. Third place went to Gol Jelenia Góra I. The remaining places were taken by: Górnik Polkowice, Gol Jelenia Góra II and Olimpijczyk Wałbrzych II.
Teams made up of players born in 1993–94 played their matches in the sports hall at the lower secondary school in Nowogrodziec. The young footballers competed in two groups. The final was contested by Zagłębie Lubin and Górnik Wałbrzych. The Mayor of the Town and Municipality of Nowogrodziec Cup was won by Zagłębie Lubin, who defeated Górnik Wałbrzych 1–0. Górnik Polkowice finished third. The Polkowice team defeated the team from Nowogrodziec 3–0, leaving it in fourth place.
The winners’ award ceremony followed the tournament. The event was hosted by Damian Sawczak, one of the gala’s organizers. The young footballers received medals, certificates and cups from the players of Polish champions Zagłębie Lubin who attended the gala, Mayor of Nowogrodziec Robert Relich, event organizer Dariusz Wojtowicz, and Iza, a singer from the band Sumptuastic. In addition, the audience had the opportunity to watch performances by cheerleaders from the Inna Show group, who regularly perform at Turowa Zgorzelec basketball games.
The gala concluded with an exhibition tournament for the Artez company cup. The organizers’ and friends’ team and the Bolesławiec County councillors’ team showed great determination in the tournament. The organizers even managed to score an honor goal against Zagłębie Lubin. However, the Polish champions once again demonstrated their class, winning both matches by a wide margin and thereby claiming the Artez company cup. The councillors’ team finished second after defeating the organizers’ and friends’ team 3–2.
The Municipality of Nowogrodziec allocated modest funds from its own budget to organize the gala. As Robert Relich, Mayor of Nowogrodziec, admits, it is excellent promotion for the town. “I do not hide the fact that this aspect is very important, but no less important is what we offer our young people: the opportunity to play and compete with the leading teams in Polish football—with Zagłębie Lubin or Górnik Polkowice.” In the mayor’s view, the gala has a good chance of becoming a permanent fixture in Nowogrodziec’s events calendar.
“I am very happy that I came here with the younger age group and that they won this tournament, especially since I am saying goodbye to these young players, as for the past few matches I have been working with Zagłębie’s young first-division team,” says Andrzej Turkowski, who has been associated with Zagłębie Lubin for many years. The legendary footballer and coach of the Lubin team also had sentimental reasons for coming to Nowogrodziec. “This is my region; I come from Lubań Śląski. I even used to come here when, as a young boy, I played in the regional league. However, we had never taken part in a tournament in Nowogrodziec because there was no sports hall,” the coach adds.
“I consider the event a great success,” says Damian Sawczak. “The football gala attracted considerable interest. It brought together more than 200 young footballers from various clubs. The boys were pleased to take part in the tournament. For them, the opportunity to meet the players of Polish champions Zagłębie Lubin was a major experience. The tournament had an international dimension. We estimate that around one thousand people passed through the sports hall in Nowogrodziec throughout the day. We are pleased that we managed to organize an event that guests described as a large-scale occasion.”
The organizers of the “Champions for Children” football gala—Damian Sawczak, Dariusz Wojtowicz and Zbigniew Szewczyk—thank everyone who helped make the event possible. The organizers extend special thanks to the Mayor of the Town and Municipality of Nowogrodziec, Robert Relich; the administration of the lower secondary school in Nowogrodziec; the administration of Primary School No. 1 in Bolesławiec; and Adrian Bernacki, coordinator of the Bolesławiec part of the competition.
The gala could not have taken place without the sponsors’ involvement. The organizers thank: Artez, Kazimierz Zarówny’s general construction company, BZWBK bank, Rutpol and the “Manufaktura” Stoneware Factory. The event was held under the patronage of Local Television “Azart-Sat” and the Boleslawiec.org portal.
(GA/MZ information)