With 66 league and cup matches played this weekend, the Jakarta Schools Football League broke every record in the book on matches played and kids on the football field.

Despite inclement weather, six different venues were called into action and hosted close to 1,500 student footballers from 50 different schools.

The Greenfields Challenge Cup preliminary rounds for the Under-10s and Under-12s were held on Sunday morning. A hat-trick by Dwisadewo Fahmi of Sekolah Victory Plus put the team well on its way to an 8-1 triumph over Bina Bangsa School-Kebon Juruk.

Adit Aditya of Sekolah Mentari Int Bintaro emulated the feat in a 4-0 win over the all-girls team from The British International School, BIS White.

Asked if it felt any different scoring against girls, Adit said, “No, they’re a good team and it was a tough game. I was happy to score. We lost 5-0 on Saturday so it was great to win today and we get to play again next week.”

Another cup hat-trick, this time from a girl, came from the aptly named Chelsea Rock. She struck three times in the U-12 Division as British International School Blue beat the Sevilla School to go through to the next round.

“I always play up front as the striker and I love scoring goals. My name kind of helps, really,” she said.

One drawing point about the league is its diversity. There are schools represented from a wide cross-section of the Jakarta community, which often contains hundreds of parents, teachers and well-wishers. The people would likely never meet in any other way.

For example, there are schools such as SMPI Al Azhar and Ar Rahman Islamic School, and also Jakarta International School and Sinar Mas World Academy.

There are four teams whose rosters are made of kids from orphanages, including the highly successful Macan Bantan Under 12s, who are made up of street scavenger kids rounded up on the streets of Jakarta and managed by Adrian Thirkell, a senior school teacher at The British International School.

He said he found pleasure in how much the chance to play meant to the kids.

“It’s a life-changing experience for the boys” Adrian said. “What a great opportunity it is for them to see the structure and organization of the league and see that discipline and working together can bring success on the field and also in life.

“They learn a lot here and love every minute of it. When it comes to their involvement in the Jakarta Schools Football League, they are equals, and that’s not something that they are used to. We sponsor their kit, food and transport and try to put positive experiences into their world.

“Last year, they were runners-up in their division and went up on stage in front of a thousand kids and parents to collect their medals. Can you imagine how that makes them feel?”

This past weekend was another good one for the boys from Macan Bantan. They edged out another orphanage team, ISCI Situ-Boys, 1-0 on Saturday and cruised past league newcomer Sinar Mas World Academy in the cup on Sunday.