Veolia STREET Tournaments are Here! We Have Been Living the Game for Six Years

For the sixth year running, the Veolia STREET tournaments have brought an unforgettable sporting atmosphere – a unique project by the Veolia Energie Group which, since 2021, has been changing the way children and young people spend their free time. At the same time, these are tournaments with a charitable dimension, with the proceeds raised each year through goals and points scored going to support a selected organisation.

Few would have expected the Covid pandemic to become the catalyst for the creation of such a successful sporting project. In 2021, when children’s physical activity had been reduced to a minimum, Veolia Energie came up with an idea with a simple but powerful message – to get children outside and give them a reason to move. The streetball tournaments for primary and secondary school pupils were met with an enthusiastic response straight away, and a year later, in 2022, street football was added to streetball. The project thus took on an even greater dimension, and today the Veolia STREET tournaments are an established tradition that hundreds of young athletes from across the Czech Republic look forward to every year. 

The Sixth Edition Is Now Behind Us

This year’s sixth edition once again headed to three key cities – Ostrava, Olomouc and Prague. This was no random choice; these are the regions where Veolia Energie has long been active and where it actively supports local communities. The football part of this year’s edition took place during May, with matches played on 4 May in Olomouc, 6 May in Ostrava and 11 May in Prague. The streetball section of the tournaments then got under way. The first streetball tournament took place on 4 June in Prague, the second on 9 June in Olomouc, and the grand final of the entire edition was held on Thursday 11 June in Ostrava.

Our Heart Beats for the Younger Generation

The Veolia STREET tournaments, however, are not only about victories and trophies. Above all, they are about a celebration of sport, friendship and healthy competition. On the pitch and court, the players – primary school pupils and secondary school students – battled it out, while their classmates cheered from the stands, and the atmosphere of the whole event felt more like a major sports festival than an ordinary school tournament. Professional facilities, refreshments, meetings with famous sporting ambassadors and original gifts were prepared for the participants. The top three teams in each tournament then received valuable prizes and a well-deserved victory trophy.

The Veolia STREET tournaments are proof that even a large company can have a heart that beats for the younger generation, for sport and for the community. Everyone present played, cheered and enjoyed every moment. Because this is exactly how the best sporting stories are written – on the street, with friends, and with a ball in hand or at your feet.

We Are Helping Again This Year

This year, the Veolia STREET tournaments focused on supporting Sportimáček, an organisation that provides sports lessons for young children aged three to eight. What makes this particularly interesting is that the amount of the financial contribution depends directly on the children’s sporting performance – the more goals or baskets the children score during the tournament, the larger the amount we donate to developing sport among the very youngest. Their efforts on the pitch or court can therefore directly benefit the younger siblings of those taking part, or other children who are only just getting ready to start playing sport.

More information about the tournaments and team registration can be found at: streetzijemehrou.cz