Soufiane Touzani’s street football event, organized by his football club FC Straat, will start on Sunday 2 October. It is the first round of a series in which four teams will compete for the day’s victory. The first round is played by the boys in the age category up to thirteen years. Other age categories will be added later this year. There is also a competition round for girls.
FC Straat was founded in November 2020. It is an online and offline street football club, founded to get children excited to play football outdoors. For Touzani, organizing this event is a dream come true. “I was always enthusiastic about organized tournaments. I have the largest football platform on YouTube, which allows us to get a lot of kids excited at once. We were founded in 2020, but because of corona this is the first time that we have been able to organize something like this with an audience,” says Touzani in conversation with football zone.
The goal of getting children excited to play football in squares must be realized by means of the ‘Watchtime to Playtime principle’. According to Touzani, watchtime is not only about what you see on your screen, but also about what you experience in real life. “When you went to our tournament on Sunday, you should be able to look at each other and think: let’s go play football. That’s the idea behind ‘Watchtime to Playtime’. Fun, entertainment and inspiration, that’s what all our services and events are focused on,” says Touzani.
Watchtime to Playtime does not only focus on screen time, but according to Touzani, screen time is the reason that less football is played in the street than in the past. “Research shows that sixty percent of children do not meet the physical activity standard, while screen time is only increasing. We don’t want to take anyone off the screen. I don’t go off the screen myself, but I want to use my reach to create content that motivates children and makes them want to play football.”
Hit
FC Street is a huge hit among children. The club already has more than 35,000 members. Children even look up to the street football players of FC Straat. “I used to be Ronaldo Lima on the square. Nowadays everyone wants to be a football player of FC Straat.” FC Straat is so popular among children that they prefer to have their picture taken with FC Straat star Ayoub than with Robin van Persie. “Van Persie’s wife told me that she saw as many as fifty men standing around the dugout of Van Persie’s training field. As she walked over to clear the crowds, Van Persie was found ten yards away, ready to train. The crowds were for Ayoub. That is the strength of FC Straat.”
Tickets for Touzani’s FC Street Event on Sunday 2 and 30 October are available at www.fcstraat.com.