By Khetam Malkawi

AMMAN – The winning team of a Little League football competition in the Kingdom will get an unusual prize – a one-week trip to Spain to visit the Real Madrid club.

The idea behind the award is to motivate schoolchildren and foster the spirit of competition, according to Maher Qaddoura, founder of the Hikmat Road Safety (HRS) initiative.

In a recent interview with The Jordan Times he said it all started when the HRS transformed schoolyards into football fields to secure safe playgrounds for children, with the goal of getting them off the streets and protecting them from potential road accidents.

“Schools used to be closed after students finished their school day, with no opportunity for them to use the facilities after leaving school,” Qaddoura said, adding that the HRS managed to reach an agreement with the Ministry of Education to use the yards after classes.

He noted that equipping each schoolyard to be used as a football field cost JD200.

“We managed to secure the funds through individual donations and established football fields at 600 schools, with a target of 1,000 by end the end of June,” Qaddoura explained, adding that coaches are assigned to train the participating teams.