Yapen – Football is a sport that embodies dreams, hopes, ideals, and fighting spirit in its philosophy. The Indonesian national team, which is now aggressively increasing its FIFA ranking, is trying to continue to utilize local players or those of Indonesian descent. In the past, Okto, Boaz, and Puhiri colored the Garuda Indonesia squad, among others. Currently, there is Kambuaya who is shining brightly in the Indonesian National Team directed by South Korean Coach Shin Tae-Yong.
Talent development for early childhood in Papua is very necessary for the development of football in the country, especially training, studying, and educating them so that they can compete in the national and international arena. Cendrawasih Island has many young talents in the world of football. The Yapen Regional Government held a soccer tournament at the elementary, junior high, and senior high school levels. This competition was held not only for men but also for women.
The tournament took place at Marora Stadium, the proud stadium of the Yapen Islands Regency. In commemoration of the 55th anniversary of the Yapen Islands, the government held this tournament to select new talents from the Papua Islands. Meanwhile, this tournament has an even distribution of teams, namely 8 teams from elementary schools, 8 teams from junior high schools, 8 teams from high schools, and 4 teams from universities.
The Junior High School Galanita team managed to penetrate the semi-finals and finals, this shows good quality of play even though they are still relatively young. While from the Elementary School level, the semi-final match featured a very fierce battle, the semi-final between SDN 1 Serui against SD Kasih Bangsa.
Finally, the match was won by SD Kasih Bangsa on penalties with a final score of 2-1. Taking them into the final round and meeting SD Inpress 1 who had earlier secured a place in the final of this tournament. Middle School, High School, and College levels, the tournament is still in one grub elimination phase, promising more competitive and exciting action on the green field.
Not only as a celebration of the Yapen Islands’ birthday, but this tournament is also an effort to explore and develop young talents in football among the younger generation. Through this competition, it is hoped that new football seeds will be created that will make the Yapen Islands proud in the national and international sports arena in the future.
