Elite Youth’s Saturday open age team who play in the London Football Weekend League Premier Division managed to do the Cup double in what has been a long and hard season.
The team which has been together since playing together in Under 14 league football in the local SNC league and have gone on to play Saturday league football as part of the Football In The Community (FITC), a project of the Osmani Trust.
The team have been playing in the London Football Weekend League for two seasons and have made huge strides improving in their form, discipline and abilities. In their first season Elite Youth finished third in the league, this season after an intense last few fixtures Elite Youth have finished fourth. However, the magic of the cup has truly come to Elite Youth reaching two League Cup Finals.
In the first final on Saturday 22nd May Elite Youth were up against Wembley Park FC in the scorching heat, this took its toil on the players but eventually the team eased past their opponents with a 3-1 victory. In the second final on Saturday 29th May Elite Youth faced a sterner test against Fanatics FC in much more football friendly weather, the match was evenly contested with some tough tackles from both side. This did not hamper Elite Youth’s youthful sprit and that extra quality showed as they won the match 3-2, both Cup finals took place at Wembley Football Club.
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Abdul Rouf, Captain of the team and has been playing for the team since he was 14 years old said “Playing for Elite is my passion, I have learnt so much respect and discipline over the years, this team really means a lot to me. If I was not playing for this teams who knows what I would do with my evenings and weekends”
The FITC project aims to provide local young people with the opportunity of structured coaching and competitive league football, many of the players have gained their coaching qualifications through the project and are now coaching other local young people.
Manik Miah, who has managed the team since they were Under 14 said, “I am really pleased for the players, they have played together for such a long time and their unity can be seen in their sportsmanship on the pitch and relationship outside playing football. The team for the football players has become their second family. Credit is due to Osmani Trust for providing these players with the opportunity to play and attend courses, without which otherwise who would know where some of them would have been.”
Abdal Ahmed, Football Development Manager at Osmani Trust said, “The open age team is an example of the work the FITC project has been doing in the last five years, we are a grass roots organisation working for the local people in providing provisions that meet their needs. I would like to congratulate Manik Miah and Sana Miah for their hard work and dedication over the season; it is individuals like them that make the difference to our communities and who Osmani Trust values to the highest degree”
The team now have their sights set on moving to the Essex County League in order to further improve. If you are interested in playing for the open age team or any of our youth teams than please contact Abdal Ahmed on 020 7247 8080 or abdal.ahmed@osmanitrust.org
Open Age Cup Final on 22nd May 2010 Images
Open Age Cup Final on 27th May 2010 Images