Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Avi Rikan visited the Yehuda Maccabi School in Tel Aviv this morning and met with the third grade students concerning Fair Play and violence in sports.
Rikan spoke with the students for an hour about his personal story, his career and the path he took at their age to become a professional footballer along with discussing how he and his teammates deal with the issue of Fair Play on the pitch.
Following the visit, Rikan said: “A friend of mine asked that I come and speak to the children at school who love to play football during recess and sometimes when they really get into it, begin to argue and fight. They specifically requested that I talk about what it’s like from my point of view as a professional footballer to respect an opponent which is something that we do when we train and play.
The children really enjoyed hearing about my career and asked how I feel and behave when I lose as well as how I respect my colleagues. I hope that they learned something from me and I know that I learnt plenty from them. Kids today are very hooked on television, computers, phones and the internet. They are exposed to everything which makes our responsibility even greater.”
