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An inspiring weekend of football, friendship and giving back was capped off by an enthralling final match at Football For Friendship (F4F) Oceania 2018, held at Tauranga City AFC's Links Avenue ground in New Zealand on 27-28 October 2018.

Team Football For Friendship, which consisted of players from Australia, New Zealand and Samoa, came from two goals down to beat Melville United AFC 3-2 in a fitting deciding match after sixteen 5 a-side teams from Oceania battled it out on the pitch to win top prize.

Tauranga Mayor Greg Brownless presented the winners medals and silverware at the official presentation ceremony to close the event programme, which was grounded by F4F's nine values of friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, tradition and honour.

Project leader Shane Boyle is elated at the success of the event:

'Seeing over one hundred 12-13 year-old male and female athletes coming together from the Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Auckland, Samoa and Australia to showcase the positive values of football was great to see," says Shane, who is from Melbourne and Tauranga-based social enterprise, Football Music Culture.

"Football really is a beautiful game and the Football for Friendship programme is all about connecting young people from around the world and use the world's most popular sport to give back to those less fortunate.

'The entire organising team includes New Zealand and Australia-based non-profits, Lengo Football Academy, Reagan Milstein Foundation and Tauranga City AFC and we wish to express our gratitude to participants and volunteers for making this very special event possible.

"We will be back again next year and hope to double the number of participants and continue to grow,."

Sunday's F4F five-a-side tournament at Links Ave was serious business. Photos: Chris James

The event was run as the first of its kind in the Oceania region and follows the larger scale annual Gazprom International Social Programme, Football for Friendship.

In 2018, the global version of the event brought 12-year-old F4F Young Ambassadors from 211 countries and regions together in Moscow to learn about the power of football to connect cultures.

A training clinic on Saturday opened the weekend of football at Tauranga's beachside Links Avenue football stadium.

New Zealand U17 coach, Sam Wilkinson, worked with coaches from Tauranga City AFC's newly established Talent Development Programme to deliver top level coaching in preparation for the tournament day that followed.

Former New Zealand All Whites coach, John Adshead, also delivered coaching sessions which provided a highlight for young participants and coaches alike.

Part of the programme included a charitable football kit drive to collect gear to be sent to kids and communities in need in the South Pacific.

The ‘football for good' campaign was led by F4F Young Ambassadors, Isla Ganley (New Zealand), Jonty Burggraaf (New Zealand), Noah Borg (Australia), and Luca Durso (Australia). Football equipment will be sent to Communities in need in Samoa, Tonga and New Zealand and was facilitated by Reagan Milstein Foundation.

New Zealand's Young Ambassador Isla Ganley takes on Tauranga City's Sam Cross under the watchful eye of referee Robbie Maris

Oceania F4F Young Ambassadors secured football gear and equipment donations from professional A-League clubs, Wellington Phoenix FC and Melbourne City FC, as well as many other local clubs and schools including Mt Maunganui Intermediate, Otumoetai FC, Waipuna FC, Cambridge FC and Tauranga City AFC.

The programme is supported by Football for Friendship's global organisation committee based in St Petersberg.

'We've been working on promotion of the Football for Friendship values for several years and I can note that it is always interesting to work with people from different cultures," says said the Global Director of Gazprom International Children's social programme Football for Friendship Vladimir Serov.

"We are very glad that this year young F4F participants from New Zealand, Australia and Pacific Islands are sharing not only the key Football for Friendship values among their peers from abroad, but are developing charity initiatives as well.

"I believe that such actions will help young boys and girls of different nationalities, backgrounds, genders and physical abilities worldwide not only to gain many new skills but also to face new lucky chances in life."

Jonty Burggraaf battles for the ball as his Team Football for Friendship take on one of Tauranga City's three teams