Courtesy: The Star On Line

Be part of the 11Eleven project

by Natalie Heng

The City Youth Academy documents a day playing futsal for a global narrative as part of the 11Eleven project.

THE alignment of the number 1 in our calender reads 11.11.11 once every 100 years.

While people tend to regard such occasions with awe and superstition, it’s also a great opportunity for marketing gimmicks.

The 11Eleven Project, however, is far more ambitious than that. Founded by Australian producer, director and model Danielle Lauren, it aims to bring the entire world together through modern media and the creation of a global narrative for what it is like to be alive in 2011.

Through film, sound and photography, the 11Eleven Project wants us to tell our story. In it, the world’s voice will be collated as one in a two-hour cinematic documentary, a photographic book and a world music collection to be released on Sept 21, 2012.

Its method is fitting of the 21st century. With today’s generation of mobile users, almost anyone can heed the call to arms, pick up a recording device, and capture their personal story. That’s exactly what Mohd Sulaiman Gerrard, 40, plans to do today.

In two futsal courts – one in Kota Damansara, Selangor, the other in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur – three teams of 11 players will be celebrating the spirit of football and its ability to bring people together.

The mini league will see schoolchildren (primary and secondary) and “veteran” teams (consisting of parents and coaches) from coach Mohd Sulaiman’s grassroots football community pitted against each other.

In other words, three teams of 11 against 11.

Whilst the 11Eleven project aims to capture the essence of what it means to be human, Mohd Sulaiman will be focusing on capturing the essence of what football means to people.

During the games, the 33 players plus their friends and families will be documenting their play with various recording devices and then uploading these contributions to the 11Eleven Project, offering the world a snapshot of a day in the life of Malaysian “grassroots” football.

The simple documentation will take place through people like Daniel Chow, one of Mohd Sulaiman’s former students and assistant coaches.

Mohd Sulaiman’s enthusiasm spills through when he talks about the game, which he says isn’t just about playing football.

“It’s about teaching kids about life. Attitudes, manners, discipline – it gives people skills that they can use on and off the pitch,” he says.

The tournament he and his fellow coaches and players will be filming will mix junior and senior players in the spirit of fostering better cross-generational relationships.

“During the games, people feel more free to talk and express themselves with each other.”

For Mohd Sulaiman, inspiring youths like Chow to see the wider potential of football is what the sport is all about.

His own passion started when he was just a kid.

Born and raised in the railway town of Sentul, Mohd Sulaiman and a group of childhood friends stayed away from trouble by sharing an enthusiasm for the sport.

“We had everything there, gangsterism, drug addicts, you name it, but what helped kids like me was football.

“Football really changes people,” he insists. “Both physically and mentally.”

When Mohd Sulaiman was 10, he and his football friends, all aged between 10 and 12, were known throughout the neighbourhood as “the railway boys”.

“As we got older, we started competing in leagues,” he says. That’s when they decided they needed a more “professional” name, and changed it to City Youth.

Today, Mohd Sulaiman is head coach of the City Youth Academy, a futsal development programme he initiated which offers free coaching sessions alongside commercial lessons during the school holidays, something that was inspired by the Awakening projects, a series of initiatives by Bite My Music Global Awards to encourage professionals to share their skills with the community for the greater good.

“We offer free lessons to the public, so young people can spend their spare time doing something constructive.”

For more on information on how you can contribute your story to the 11Eleven project, log on to 11elevenproject.com.

The project is a non-profit effort, all proceeds from the project will go to charity.




Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com