Barclays-ISF Girls Tournament 2015
10 February 2015
On Saturday 7 February 2015, 24 U14 girls teams from local schools and organisations that we work with throughout 8 provinces of Cambodia came together at Phnom Penh’s 3G Sports Centre to compete at the Barclays-ISF Girls Tournament 2015.
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Thanks to support from Barclays over the past 5 years, the tournament has grown from strength to strength with almost 300 players benefitting from competitive football and fun on Saturday. It was a fantastic day of organised sports for Cambodian girls that promotes friendship and sportsmanship for supporters and players alike. This year’s event showcased an ever-increasing standard of play and skills from the girls who battled it out on the pitch in the round robin matches.
Throughout the morning, ISF coaches also ran games and activities for 6 teams of boys and girls with physical and intellectual disabilities as a part of our Sports for All Abilities Programme, funded by FIFA Football for Hope. The children and young adults had a fantastic time refining their football skills with the coaches before putting them to the test in friendly matches. These players left the pitch with a medal for their hard work, a smile from ear to ear, and some treasured memories of a great day out with their friends, old and new.
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In the afternoon matches, the stakes were upped as the cheers in the crowd became ever louder in anticipation of a place in the finals. Cheered on by their supporters and a team of visiting Barclays staff from Singapore, the girls played with tenacity and tactics but only the strongest of teams could secure a place in the finals. This year it was ISF Flying Tigers and Aspeca FABBAs Tigers that roared through. In a tense match, ISF Stung Meanchey scored the first and only goal, making them tournament winners and very proud to take home the cup! Of ISF Stung Meachey’s win, ISF Country Manager, Chourp Vicheka said “It’s been a long time coming. I’ve known the girls a long time and they deserve the day – it’s also just a great boost for everyone at ISF too”.
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Garry Hammond of Barclays said, “Over the past 5 years I have watched the ISF U14 Girls Tournament grow from year to year to what it has become today – which is a truly special event. This year’s games were not only exciting and great fun to watch, but a true testament of how the commitment and dedication of all ISF staff, coaches and volunteers have impacted the lives of so many children in a positive manner. The girls gave it their all and every team, every player was a winner in many ways. I hope next year’s tournament will be as successful as this year.”
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Many thanks to ISF referees, coaches, admin staff and management who worked to make the day such a success, and to Barclays for their continued support which makes this day possible.
