Last Sunday saw the return of the highly anticipated annual Community Football Tournament. This event is a wonderful occasion for our BIS HCMC students to participate in a fun and competitive competition alongside children from a range of our community partners.
Excitingly, over 100 students took part in this successful event, with children being invited from Year 5, 6 and 7 as well as students from Binh An School, Binh Tho School, Huynh Van Ngoi School, Poussieres de Vie and the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation.
We were also very fortunate to have the support from our dedicated year 9, 10, 11 and 12 students, who helped coach and support the teams throughout the morning.
The field was set, the sun was shining and the atmosphere was energetic. Children were arriving with big, excited grins, ready to get stuck in with the competition. This year was the World Cup Special, meaning the mixed teams of children wore new football kits representing the different countries that will participate in next year’s professional tournament.
The whistle blew at 8.45am and the exciting group stages began. Fantastic goals flew in, brilliant saves were made and the talent of these young children was truly on show. Cheered on by the supporting crowds, teams with the most points then progressed to the knock-out stages, with one game even ending with a nail-biting penalty shootout. The final was played between England and Germany. It was an exciting and tense showdown, but Germany won the game 4-0.
Every player in the tournament was awarded a silver medal of participation. The winning team were presented with gold medals, to reflect their achievements for the morning.
Memorably, every child went home with not only new friends and experiences, but were also able to keep their football kit as a token of appreciation. During the tournament, it was brilliant to see all children integrating through the medium of sport. There certainly was a very strong sense of community spirit at An Phu on Sunday morning.
The Community Service Team would like to thank everyone who helped support and make the successful event possible. We had a brilliant response from parents, staff, PTG, community partners, students and more. From coaches to photographers, nurses to referees, we truly appreciate that you were willing to give up your time for this event.
Luke Neville, Community Service Campus Leader