This year, for the first time, ISF received an invitation to send a team to the Bangkok International Youth Football Festival, held annually at the end of the football season. The event is organized by the Bangkok Soccer league (BSL ) and was held at the sports fields of Bangkok Patana School on March 31 / April 1.

The event is mainly for boys with teams from Bangladesh, Indonesia, China, Vietnam and Singapore involved alongside clubs from Thailand. BSL has been trying to develop a stronger participation from Girls teams so ISF decided to send the Girls U –14 team to the event. The team is selected in consultation with Sam Schweinbgruber of SALT, who coaches the team, from players in the Barclays ISF Phnom Penh league and the ANZ SALT Battambong league and is the talent pool from which teams are selected for the bi-annual Girls U -16 tour to Singapore, which was such a great success in November 2010. In fact 3 of the girls from that tour were still young enough to play in the younger age group in Bangkok this year, and even next year for two of them, so we have in place a talent pipeline that would put many Premier League Clubs to shame!

The team arrived late on Thursday night after a long overland trip from their training camp at Kampot on the south coast of Cambodia, tired but happy to be in new and exciting environs. Accomodation was in a dormitory guest house in central Bangkok so the Friday rest day was spent on a whirlwind tour of the more modern facilities available in central Bangkok, including the raised light rail system ( BTS ), where the ticket barriers presented an immediate cultural challenge to the Girls, food courts ( very popular and some great signs of team work developing as excess coupons were combined to allow further purchases ) Ten Pin Bowling, the Aquarium and a 4 D movie. Not to mention many ,many escalator rides on which the Girls graduated from nervous novices to expert old hands during the course of the day. A great time was had by all.

Friday dawned hot and humid as is normal during this time of year and we were at the field by 8 oclock to get acclimatized for the event. We were up against 3 other teams, two from BSL and one from Arsenal Junior Soccer school in Singapore. The format was 2 seven a side matches against each of the other 3 teams on Saturday, the results from which seeded the draw for the knock out on Sunday. This format allowed coaches to adjust tactics during the event as they learned more about the opposition and to rotate the 12 girl squad to best effect.
After two opening victories, 5-0 against BSL Lions and 2-1 against BSL Dragons, the team came down to earth with a bump as they were defeated 2-0 by Arsenal JSS Singapore. Having played the better football and dominated the possession, we were undone by two long range efforts, although the mainly expat Singapore girls presented a difficult physical challenge throughout the game. Food for thought for Sam the coach !! Luckily we did not have to wait long for a rematch and after another routine victory 5-0 over BSL Lions and a much improved 3-0 victory over BSL Dragons , we turned the tables over JSS with a 2-0 victory, having successfully counteracted their more physical running game and turning possession into goals more efficiently . These results gave us top ranking and the easier opening game on the Sunday.

The first game on Sunday was a comfortable 6-0 victory, which allowed Sam the luxury of resting the top players and giving more game time to the squad members. Sopheavy scored her second hat trick of the tournament in this game and, like all born strikers, looked rather disappointed to be taken off when she had done so ! So the final came and was inevitably against JSS Arsenal Singapore. As with the previous two games, ISF/SALT dominated the possession and had many chances but were undone by a smash and grab breakaway goal late in the first half, so at half time we were 1-0 down and in need of some inspiration to get back into the game. This was not long in coming and deservedly came from Koemhong, the captain and strongest player, with a rocket shot from 25 yards in the top corner that any keeper would have struggled to keep out. This goal turned the tide and a succession of chances came the way of ISF / SALT , three of which were taken resulting in a resounding 4-1 victory. Captain Koemhong lifted the winners trophy, and the Golden Boot as top scorer, to great acclaim and all the Girls were clutching their winners medals with pride as they boarded the minibus back to Cambodia.

These are the hard facts but they tell only part of the story. What gave even more pleasure to the massed traveling fans of ISF / SALT ( Leo and Paddy Brogan, and Stuart Davy- actually not travelling very far ) and to impartial spectators alike was the faultless behaviour of the team and the excellence of their football. The pass and move game that Sam has coached into them was simply at a different level to the other teams and earned them many admirers during the course of the event. Perhaps the best way to sum this up is to quote a BSL parent, late on Saturday in the game against JSS Arsenal when a particularly clever 3 girl passing move had cut open the defence yet again…….”Wonderful. We should be paying money to watch this “

The trip was a great success on every level and is planned now as an annual event since the costs on the ground in Bangkok are not excessive. Thanks go to Steve Wise, the Chairman of BSL for the invite and Kate Benson for the organisational work, and to Bangkok Patana school for providing transport for us in Bangkok – and the pitch for use in the event ! Finally, as ever, thanks go to Barclays for the sponsorship of the activities of the U 14 Select Girls team.