Making amateurs' big-time dreams come true

Making amateurs' big-time dreams come true

A seven-a-side event with a difference is proving to be a success in Thailand

The seven-a-side Singha Football League may not have added any stars to the national team roster, but the amateur event is doing a fine job in motivating more people to take up the sport in this soccer-mad country.

Flick's Apichart Fakhunthod, left, in action against Ikkyu-san at Stamford Bridge in London.

The league is staged annually to give players a chance to hone their skills and improve their quality of life by involving in a healthy activity.

Phurit Bhirombhakdi of Singha Corperation is convinced that the tournament has been enjoying a continuous growth since its inaugural edition in 2009 and hopes that it will improve further in the years to come.

"We are committed to supporting the tournament and making it better every year," Phurit said recently.

The tournament started as a five-a-side event in 2009 with more than 300 players joining and was transformed into a seven-a-side contest from 2012 onwards.

A couple of years later, the tournament received support from English Premier League giants Chelsea, who sent staff to conduct a football clinic during the event across Thailand.

This year's edition has been the most successful tournament to date with the organisers boasting of participation of more than 200,000 amateur players.

The tournament also offered bigger prizes and incentives to the participants.

Last year's finalists had a chance to visit Chelsea's Cobham training grounds, but a 20-player group of this year's finalists was given a much better opportunity and Flick and Ikkyu-san played the title match at Stamford Bridge.

To make the occasion even more memorable, the final was officiated by former English Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher and witnessed by Chelsea's ex-goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini, who is also the club's ambassador.

Cudicini later said he was impressed with the quality of players of the two sides.

"I found some players very powerful and quick and some of them have good skills. That is very interesting," the Italian said.

The 42-year-old Cudicini, who is also working with the Republic of Ireland U21 team, voiced his support for the seven-a-side league, saying that it was a good way to promote football because it did not need much space to play it.

He added that this version of the game can help improve the skills of players.

"When you play in a seven-a-side format, you use lots of tactics. You have to be quick and good at the first touch. You need to cover space," he said.

"A competition like this can help improve both technique and tactics."

Cudicini said that with the final being played at Stamford Bridge, he could feel that the players were trying to make most of this rare opportunity.

"You could see that everyone was enthusiastic and excited playing here. It is a great arena. They should be proud of that," he said.

"I know, they had to win lots of matches before reaching the final here."

In the final, Flick beat Ikkyu-san in a penalty shoot-out to win the title and receive the winners' cheque of 100,000 baht. Ikkyu-san pocketed 50,000 baht.

For the winners, it was a dream come true to win the trophy on English soil.

"We played almost 20 matches before reaching the final. It was really tough this year," said Sakrat Chualuangto, the player-coach of the Flick team.

"It is a dream come true not only for me but also for my teammates. We are the champions of Thailand and of a tournament which had a large number of participating teams," he said.

"Also, we are really proud to lift the trophy here. It was a good comeback after losing in the first round of the last three editions.

"Moreover, to play at the venue of my favourite team was wonderful. It was a once-in-a-life-time opportunity."

Flick trailed 1-0 in the second half but came back to the level the score 1-1 in the second.

Later in the game, their goalkeeper Chawalit Sisang was sent off after getting a red card but they managed to fend off challenges from Ikkyu-san until the final whistle. Finally, they prevailed 10-9 in the penalty shoot-out.

Sakrat felt that both teams could have played better had not the weather been too cold and if they had had more time to get used to the climate.

Edward Connock, Chelsea's head of global activities, said his club and Singha have long been partners and the EPL giants are proud of playing a part in supporting football in Thailand.

"I know Singha focuses on developing sports in Thailand to make sure everyone can play sports," he said.

"Working with them, we can help develop football in Thailand."

Wilailuck Chaturaprasert, Boonrawd Trading's manager of marketing promotion, was happy to see the event finish a success and expected more teams to join the next edition.

"This is for amateur players as anyone can join and win the tournament. With the two teams in London this time, I think it would inspire lots of players to participate in the next year's event. We will make it bigger every year," she said.

Wilailuck confirmed that bigger prizes will be offered in the future.

"Because of the success we had this year, it would be tough for us to improve on the incentives for the participants. However, I can assure you that there will be something new and interesting in the future," she said.

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