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Fire football popular in East Java boarding schools

Edvantage | Thu Oct 11 2012

The game is related to pencak silat, a traditional Indonesian martial art, and is called "sepak bola api", locally.

Fire football popular in East Java boarding schools

INDONESIA - The beautiful game is on fire in Indonesia - literally.

A 'ball' that is actually a flaming coconut, is used in a friendly kick-about amongst students in Indonesia.

The coconut is soaked in kerosene for two days before it is lit. The kick-about lasts for about 60 minutes and between four to six coconuts are used in total during the match.

According to The Daily Mail, the game is popular in many Islamic boarding schools in East Java.

The game is related to pencak silat, a traditional Indonesian martial art, and is called "sepak bola api", locally.

The five-a-side match is played on 25X25m pitch between two teams.

In an interview on Indonesian news channel, an interviewee from a boarding school said that the game is organised "to celebrate students' birthdays here at the boarding school and to test their guts".

To prepare for the game, a prayer is said for the safety of the students and their bodies are covered in salt and herbs to prevent anyone getting burnt by the fireball.

A student who was interviewed said that it is more fun playing with the fireball than a traditional football.

abrahamr@sph.com.sg

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