The International Christmas Soccer Indoor Tournament took place in Minsk in January. More than 110 football players representing 12 teams came from 8 countries. Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia and Belarus who participated in the tournament on a regular basis were joined by the teams from Lithuania, Poland and the Netherlands!
Thirty eight spectacular football matches were not the only purpose of the event. It was a good time to talk about something that was more important than gold medals (the name of the Lithuanian football team was “More than Gold”).
Pavel, one of the coaches, performed his songs proclaiming Christian values in life. The tournament’s chaplain Alexei shared the Gospel of Jesus in a clear way. Yakov Timofeev, the vice president of the local Baptist Union Seminary, shared his biblical reflections during one of the programs. At the Award Ceremony, the participants along with prizes, each received a New Russian Translation bible.
The winner of the International Christmas Soccer indoor Tournament 2019 was the team from Latvia. Thee final was not only seen, but also heard thanks to the sports commentator Pavel Baranov, who works for the central sports channel of Belarus.