Football

 

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Paris, France, April 2011

 

The Eco-Sys Action Football Cup (EAFC) in Kaw, French Guiana wins the Jean Roland Prize.

 

This tournament was awarded the Jean Roland prize from the EDF foundation, which each year recognizes an exceptional project created in conjunction with a natural reserve that champions “reconciliation between Man and Nature.”

 

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Valence, France, March 2011

 

A wink from Jean-Pierre Papin

 

What an amazing opportunity to meet not only one of the most talented and spectacular players in the football world (54 selections to the French national team, participation in the 1986 World Cup, member of prestigious teams like AC Milan, Marseille, Bordeaux, etc.), but also one with the biggest heart.

With his remarkable association www.9decoeur.org, JPP helps hundreds of children suffering from serious brain injury. A footballer at the service of children! And I love the photo!

 

 

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Ifaty, Madagascar, December 2010

 

At the Ifaty tournament in Madagascar, a photo alone can summarize the spirit of the Eco-Sys Action Football Cup (EAFC).

 

An unusual penalty shootout; the spectators form an almost perfect circle around the goal and the players, united by the same emotion on this “football planet”; the fervor mounts, the final will be determined by the final goal; the player will soon approach in the burning hot sand, the ball will fly, too high, too long, he will miss the target; but it is not important, it is the beauty of the sport in a cliché, the victory goes to the tortoises and nature, the weekend, perhaps more. Today, there are only winners.

 

 

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Kaw, french Guiana, June 2010

 

Kaw, French Guiana: total success for the first Eco-Sys Action Football Cup (EAFC) in South America.

 

The second Eco-Sys Action Football Cup (EAFC) tournament was held in the heart of the magnificent Kaw-Roura Nature Reserve in French Guiana. The village of Kaw welcomed teams from all over the country for this celebration of biodiversity represented by the Black Caiman, a highly endangered species.

 

Far from the Guiana Space Center, the habitants of Kaw and those responsible for the reserve have launched a remarkable tournament worthy of this amazingly beautiful, yet equally fragile, area.

 

 

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Salama, Kenya: Children and cheetahs, big winners of the first EAFC tournament.

 

The inaugural Eco-Sys Action Football Cup (EAFC) tournament brought together 10 villages and more than 500 people in Salama, Kenya. Focused on the cheetah, which is slowly disappearing in this area due to habitat loss and continuing conflicts with farmers, it was a huge popular success.

 

Through a new and positive way the local population was able to learn how to better understand this feline. The event brought together Action for Cheetahs in Kenya (ACK) and Eco-Sys Wana Duma (Eco-Sys Action Association in Kenya).

 

A cycling race was held the day after the tournament with my friends Adeline and Olivier on our way to Cape Town during our Tandafrika adventures.

 

Read more in the complete file of the tournament.