Once again, the Save Our Youth Foundation (SOY) is holding a Football Extravaganza/Family Fun Day, set for Saturday, 18 February, to encourage young people to make positive choices while enjoying a day of sports and family-friendly activities.

The all-day series of football matches will take place at the Annex football field in George Town and feature 12 youth teams in three different categories: boys U-15, boys U-17 and girls U-17. Many club teams have signed up to participate — Bodden Town, Elite, Tigers, Academy, Sunset, East End, George Town and Scholars, along with John Gray High School.

The event, which is free to the public, kicks off at 10am and ends at 6pm, with the featured match of the day the Cayman Select vs the Rest of the World for the Save Our Youth Super Cup.

The theme for this year’s event is Positive Choices. In addition to football, youngsters will participate in discussions with community role models on the importance of making decisions that will yield positive results in their lives. The Football Extravaganza is an annual event that young people have come to look forward to every year.  The goal is to raise awareness among Cayman’s youth about the issues affecting them, including drug abuse, violence, crime, peer pressure and the dangers of prison.

Iris Stoner, Acting President of SOY, explained that sports have traditionally proven to be a very effective way to bring people together. “The popularity of football is a perfect springboard to engage our young people and motivate them to make positive decisions in this pivotal time in their development. Through the Football Extravaganza we are able to reach out to youngsters and their families in a healthy, fun environment in the hopes of making a difference in their lives,” she said.

Entertainment will include several live performances from some of Cayman’s upcoming talented young artists. There will be lots of prizes and surprises for those in attendance, along with a bouncing castle for the younger kids. In addition, a wide variety of food and refreshments will be available.
“I cannot stress enough that the youth are the future,” said George Roper, one of the organizers for the event. “Our Island needs our young people and our young people need their island to create a positive and sustainable path for their future. Therefore, I am inviting everyone to come out and show their support for the youth of Cayman.”

About the SOY Foundation

The SOY Foundation is a youth-empowerment organization. Our main aim is to target youth within our society with the hope of providing a more stable future for them and improving their lives, while empowering them to be positive leaders, entrepreneurs and law-abiding citizens who value themselves. By forming partnerships with various organisations within our community and through early intervention, we believe that the many problems which our youth now face can be avoided.

We hope to build character and develop skills through academic and vocational training while awarding scholarships to outstanding achievers in academics and athletics. We at SOY understand the complexity and challenges of the issues we have undertaken to address. However, we feel as members of this community it is our responsibility to guide young people in the right direction.