12-year old to become the Football for Friendship matches host
DUBAI 7 May 2019: Yazan Taha is a 12-year-old journalist from Syria, who will become the commentator of the Football for Friendship World Championship in Madrid. The Championship is part of the final events of the International Children’s Social Programme Football for Friendship taking place on May 28 – June 2, 2019 in Madrid. The programme organized by the official UEFA Champions League partner Gazprom.
Now, Yazan Taha is studying in the Strikers Football Academy of Kuwait and has the title of the world’s youngest football commentator. He also hosts matches on BeIN Sports TV Channel, indulging in both football and journalism at the same time.
“I started playing football when I was 5 years old. It was at that time when I commented on my first game: FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid FC. I know it sounds incredible, but it just happened on its own. I really love both commenting on games and playing football,” says Yazan Taha.
Last year, Yazan has already participated in the final events of the Sixth Season of the programme in Moscow. For the first time he commented the deciding game of the Football for Friendship World Championship in English; before he had only done it in Arabic. Later, Yazan together with more than 2 thousand participants of the programme attended the Opening Match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia where national teams of Russian and Saudi Arabia met on the field. Yazan is actively learning Spanish for the final of the programme’s Seventh Season.
This year, thanks to participating in the Football for Friendship programme, he will see the UEFA Champions League Final in Madrid from the stands of the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
“Football for Friendship has given me a lot of positive emotions, a lot of friends from different parts of the world. I met and talked with my idols – Rivaldo Salgado, Iker Casillas. I really hope to meet Messi and Ronaldo this year,” notes Yazan
Now, Yazan Taha is actively developing his own Youtube Channel which has already gained more than a million subscribers. He regularly comments on the official matches together with professional hosts. In 2017, Yazan was invited to open the Jaber al-Ahmad International Stadium (Kuwait) with 65 000 capacity.
According to Yazan, it’s very important to tell people about the social impact of the Football for Friendship programme, and that Young Journalists who participate in the programme annually handle this mission perfectly.