By Jessica Hutting | Project Manager
In early 2025, BOLA held a selection for the U 17 boys' team to take part in the Street Child World Cup to be held in Mexico in 2026, after sending 10 girls to the Street Child World Cup in Qatar in 2022. Around 60 boys aged 13-16 years old went through 2 stages of the football skills selection process: interviews and life skills observations.
Before receiving the selection invitation, the search for players had begun during the 2024 Futsal Jamboree. Of the 217 children observed by several external program coaches, 67 of them were selected to receive an invitation to take part in the selection process.
After going through two stages of selection, in March 2025, the top 17 were selected to take part in intensive program, consisting of life skills and football skills coaching. Since April 2025, the 17 children have taken part in the champion class, a capacity-building program that hones children's life skills related to digital literacy, financial literacy, and reproductive health.
In the champion class itself, there are 27 other children who are members, including 22 girls. The champion class will run until August 2025.
As an effort of BOLA to support equality and opportunities for girls and boys, on May 18, 2025, BOLA collaborated with the Embassy of The Netherlands in Indonesia, held a coaching clinic and fun football with the theme "Football for Everyone" by inviting 17 candidates for the 2026 Street Child World Cup team and 17 girls aged 12-17 years old, to play together.
In this activity, several participants gave testimonies that equality in football means providing equal playing opportunities for boys and girls, whether they were young or older. Everyone can feel the same joy and excitement when playing football. For some children, this opportunity was their first experience playing in a combined team of boys and girls.
Another interesting experience on that occasion, the present of the Indonesian national football team coach, Patrick Kluivert, who provided motivation and encouragement for the participants to dare to pursue their dreams and continue to practice football diligently.
This year, BOLA collaborated with five other social organizations in greater Jakarta, for the first time holding a girls' social futsal league. So far, 85 girls have participated in this activity. The girls' social futsal league has been running since May and will end in August 2025, with the hashtag that we echo, "Proud to Kick Like a Girl."
In the league, participants not only compete against each other, but they also participate in team-building activities with themes related to girls' issues. The purpose of this league is to provide more playing hours for girls amidst the lack of futsal competitions for girls. This is expected to encourage more involvement of girls in futsal and motivate them to stay physically active.
The girls' social futsal league also provides an opportunity for teenage BOLA participants to become committee members, team coaches, facilitators, and match officials in team-building games or matches. This encourages them to open their minds to other jobs in the field of sports besides athletes, which they may be involved in, such as referees, physiotherapists, coaches, or officials.
Also in 2025, one of BOLA's assisted areas successfully initiated a mini tournament where teenage participants became the committee and those who responsible for the activity. There were 48 boys (U 14) from 4 academies or communities who participated in this activity.
Through this activity, Ishla and Dwi, as representatives of the committee, expressed that through this activity they learned to work together, understand team members, communicate clearly, write proposals, and solve various problems that arise in the context of teamwork. This initiative can be a benchmark for groups of young people in BOLA's assisted communities to dare to take a role in the sustainability of the program.
In the 3rd and 4th quarters, BOLA will hold the 8th Children's Futsal Jamboree with the theme of digital intelligence, agile in the field. This theme was taken as BOLA's effort to promote balance in the digital world and everyday life.
We still need support from everyone to help underprivileged children have better life skills to avoid all forms of risky behavior and optimize their best potential through football and futsal.
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