The audience was the champion of the late Michel Haddad’s tournament, with the great participation of schools

The late Michel Haddad Futsal Tournament witnessed record participation in its fifth edition, with teams representing 34 schools from various Lebanese regions competing. The tournament, named after the former Arabic language teacher who passed away seven years ago, has become an important annual event in futsal, both in terms of discovering new talents and transferring them to clubs, especially those active in the youth league. Naji Haddad, the brother of the deceased, pointed out that "the tournament, which was initially launched by Michel's friends to bring together students who loved him and wanted to commemorate him, has transformed year after year into a key event in school sports activities. The proof is the great turnout for participation in its fifth edition, which concluded with great success, and many schools even requested to join the competitions after the tournament began." He added: "Just as my late brother's educational goal was to help young people achieve a better future, we strive, through sports, and specifically through one of the most popular sports in schools, to provide a space for fair competition and to showcase school talents that can be relied upon to elevate the status of sports in general." The final rounds of the tournament, organized by Jimmy Tannous and Joseph Khoury, were held at the President Emile Lahoud Sports Complex, in the presence of friends and family of the deceased, social and sports figures, as well as a large crowd that gathered to cheer on the four teams that reached the semi-finals. The Antonine School of Ghazir team defeated Mar Youssef Aintoura 3-1, and the Al-Jumhour School team defeated the Antonine School of Baabda 4-1. The final match, officiated by international referee Khalil Balhawan and national referee Michel Trad, was a thrilling encounter, ultimately decided by Al-Jumhour School 2-0 in a penalty shootout thanks to their goalkeeper, Anthony Hammoush, who saved two penalties, after his team had drawn with the Antonine School of Ghazir 2-2. The winners were Marfo Bustani and Elie Heikel, while the runners-up were Charbel Salim and Karl Ashkar. The first-place winner received a cash prize of $5,000, the runner-up $2,500, and the third-place team, Mar Yousef Ain Toura, $1,500. Antonine Baabda received $1,000. Mark Bustani was chosen as the tournament's best player, while Ryan Bitar from the French Lycée was crowned top scorer. Anthony Hamoush, also from the public, received the award for best goalkeeper, and his coach, Raymond Hanna, received the award for best coach. Joseph Fadlallah from the Rosary Sisters School in Mansourieh received a special award as the youngest player in the tournament.