HUNDREDS of youngsters, parents and dignitaries attended the closing ceremony of the FutbolNet second season in Jubail, including Dr. Mosleh H. Alotaibi — Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Commission in Jubail and Patrick Van Daele — VP & country chairman of Shell in Saudi Arabia During the second season of FutbolNet in the Kingdom, more than 300 enthusiastic children participated in the free of charge training sessions, which focus on learning life values through football. "Being part of such a big opportunity as well as making a positive impact on kids' behaviors is just great! The beauty behind this program is that the targeted age groups are eager to adapt to change and have a positive attitude towards advice, mentoring and improvement. "I thank Shell, The FC Barcelona foundation and The Royal Commission in Jubail for introducing and developing this program that aims to improve and impart positive values in society," said FutbolNet Coach Khalid Aljassim. Shell, the Royal Commission for Jubail and FC Barcelona Foundation kicked-off the Saudi initiative in February 2015. Since then, it has reached out to more than 700 participants from different schools at a specially prepared facility in Jubail. Shell implements the "FutbolNet" program in cooperation with the FC Barcelona Foundation, which uses football to promote life skills such as: leadership, teamwork, commitment, respect, and healthy habits in children between the ages of 8 to 17. The "FutbolNet" program was officially recognized at the Sport Industry Awards 2014, winning the ‘Best Youth Development Initiative' award. Speaking on the program, a student shared that he has benefited from many things such as teamwork and self-confidence as well as respect for others. Jordi Cardoner, vice-president of the FCB Foundation, pledged his support to the initiative and said that "Barça is more than a club in the world and the FutbolNet program that we deliver in Saudi Arabia is a good example of it. The values that our club represents are universal, and from the FC Barcelona Foundation we are committed to transmit them to children, since FCB is the Club of children." Patrick Van Daele said: "It is wonderful to see children enjoying themselves and benefitting from the program at the same time. It gives me the confidence to continue and grow FutbolNet in the Kingdom. At Shell, we are committed to youth development and helping create better futures. FutbolNet does exactly that – it helps young people acquire essential skills through football to succeed in their future professional and social lives." Al Otaibi said: "This year marks the second year of conducting the program in Jubail together with Shell, FC Barcelona Foundation and the Royal Commission. We have seen positive feedback from last year's results and had a mutual evaluation with parents resulting strong views of how the programme benefited all kids through the learning of main values. We are now keen to continue with this programme due to the huge demand coming from both kids and their parents."
