Two young boys' dream becomes a tournament: the "Serrara League." The final is on July 23rd.

One spring evening, as the calm sea accompanies the slow passage of the ferry, the energy is all in the kids. Wearing the same tracksuit, they move in a group, laden with backpacks and laughter, still immersed in stories of the game they just played. It's Epomeo ASD, a team of teenagers aged thirteen to fourteen, fresh from the final match of a regional championship that kept them enthralled until the very end. School is about to end, and with it, that age suspended between childhood and the first step towards adulthood, marked for many by the dreaded yet exciting eighth-grade exam. Yet, amidst the laughter and chatter, two kids stand apart. Sitting across from each other, they talk intensely, as if nothing else exists. They're imagining a future, already building an idea.

Giovanni Gallo is fourteen, Mario Iacono is thirteen. They are friends, teammates, and united by a passion that endures with the end of the season: five-a-side football. But it's not just the desire to keep playing that drives them to plan. There's more: they want to create something that will keep summer afternoons alive, something that unites, that brings them together even off the field. In an era when kids are often criticized for preferring a screen to real life, Giovanni and Mario are turning the tables. They're not asking for a video game, they're not seeking refuge behind a cell phone. They're asking for an opportunity. And if it doesn't exist, they're ready to build it with their own hands.

Thus was born the idea for the "Serrara League," a summer five-a-side soccer tournament for players born in 2011, 2012, and 2013. After that initial conversation on the ferry, a more concrete meeting ensued. The two friends wrote down the rules: teams of five to seven players, a registration fee of €30 per team to cover essential expenses—the cup, an informational flyer, and rental of the Serrara Fontana municipal pitch. The flyers circulated, both in print and online, and the response exceeded all expectations.

Six teams from the municipalities of Serrara Fontana, Forio, and Barano participated in the tournament, which took place from July 13th to 17th. Sant'Angelo, Epomeo, and Calimera represented Serrara Fontana; from the same municipality of Forio, the Zio Giovanni TIM team, representing the hamlet of Panza, represented the team; from Barano, Barano FC and Buonopane Sport took to the field. Two matches were played each day: one at 6:00 PM and the other at 7:00 PM. The heat didn't deter either the athletes or the crowd, who turned out in large numbers to cheer on the budding young champions.

But while the idea originated with two young people, it's also true that the adult community listened and supported them. Parents were at the forefront, of course, but also the Municipal Commission and Mayor Irene Iacono, who provided the field and enthusiastically supported the initiative. Not to mention the referees, volunteers among volunteers, who brought credibility and order to the games.

The tournament wasn't just a success. It was a success. And not just because of its logistical success or attendance. The "Serrara League" embodied a principle as simple as it was overlooked: sport can unite. Giovanni and Mario, at their young age, did something that many adults don't know how or want to do: they looked beyond. They listened to the stories of the grown-ups, the tales of rivalries between the hamlets in the 1980s and 1990s, and they decided to respond with play. Not with words, but with a ball and a handshake between municipalities and hamlets, where once there were divisions.

The final will be played on July 23rd, once again on the municipal pitch in Serrara Fontana. One team will lift the cup, of course, but the real winners are already clear: their names are Giovanni Gallo and Mario Iacono. They have shown that dreaming is not futile, that action is possible, that peace—even peace that seems too big for two teenagers—can start on a sports field and with six teams coming together to play.

What they did wasn't just a tournament. It was a lesson. For everyone.