New York - On December 14th, the "Petros G. Patrides" Cultural Center at St. Demetrios School in Astoria was flooded with the younger generation of soccer players, their parents, and coaches for the annual Christmas party of the Eleftheria Pancyprian Youth Soccer Teams. The event was attended by many dignitaries, including the Consul General of Cyprus, Alexis Phedonos, the President of the Federation of Cypriot American Organizations (FCAO) Kyriacos Papastylianou, City Councilman Costa Constantinides and Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas.
During the event, the FCAO awarded six merit scholarships to Eleftheria players who were accepted into universities. The scholarship recipients were Milton Sonakides, Stefanos Manaridis, Nikolas Stroumbakis, Panagiotis Tsouros, Pantelis Sideras, and Alex Kavazis.
The President of FCAO, Kyriacos Papastylianou, and Consul General of Cyprus, Alexis Phedonos, awarded the scholarships to the players. During his remarks, Kyriacos Papastylianou thanked the President of the Eleftheria Pancyprian Youth Soccer Teams, Nicos Tziazas, the coaches, and volunteers for their outstanding contribution to the community and the excellent work they are doing with the youth. He reminded the players to honor the Eleftheria Pancyprian jersey and never forget Pancyprian.
The President of the Eleftheria Nicos Tziazas, during his remarks, thanked FCAO for the scholarships and continuous support. He spoke about the acquiring of the new soccer field that will provide the opportunity for more children to participate in the soccer teams and expressed his gratitude to Councilman Costa Constantinides for making the field a priority and for securing funding for the construction of the stadium.
Stefanos Manaridis spoke on behalf of the scholarship recipients and expressed gratitude to the FCAO and Eleftheria Pancyprian Youth Soccer Teams for the scholarship awards. He thanked the coaches and volunteers for their hard work and dedication to the club and for allowing him to participate in the Cyprus Winter Tour. The trip was a lifelong experience that provided him the opportunity to learn so much more about the Cypriot culture and history.
City Councilman Costas Constantinidis and Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas greeted the guests and awarded citations to the scholarship recipients.
Tasoula Manaridis
Federation of Cypriot American Organizations
Tel. (516) 399-2295
Email: info@fcaousa.org
