Osmani Trust’s Football in the Community Project organised the seven-a-side Canary Wharf Summer Cup which attracted over 200 young people. The tournament was held at Mile End Leisure Centre, with the finals of both the under 14 and under 16 age category being played at The David Beckham Academy on Saturday 15th August. Teams from all across London and beyond took part in the tournament; this tournament bought the curtains down on a very busy summer of football tournaments for Osmani Trust, all of which was sponsored by Canary Wharf Group plc.
The Canary Wharf Summer Cup is aimed at building better community relations and understanding between various ethnic groups living in Tower Hamlets and beyond. It also aims to develop Partnerships and raise awareness of how Osmani Trust and Canary Wharf Plc is working in the local community.
The group stage games and semi finals of all age categories took place on Saturday 8th August at Mile End Leisure Centre, where 20 teams battled for a chance to play at the David Beckham Academy.
Elite Youth topped the Under 14 group A respectively with MUL FC narrowly grabbing the runners up place. In Group B Clichy FC dominated their group by winning all their games without conceding a single goal, while Shadwell BBK came runners up.
The first semi-final in the Under 14 saw Clichy FC easing past MUL FC 3-0 to book their place in the finals. In the other semi-final Shadwell BBK had it a bit more difficult as they battled past Elite Youth with a single goal.
Khairul Alam captain of Elite Youth under 14 said:
“I really enjoyed playing in this tournament and the others ones through the summer; it has been a good summer for us as I love playing football all the time”
In the Under 16 age category it was a much tighter affair. In Group A, three teams ended up with same amount of points, and only goal difference separated the qualification places. Newark FC and Shadwell Youth Organisation both reached the semi-finals.
In Group B it was a similar affair, with top three teams all locked on the same amount of points. Once again goal difference saw London Athletic and Plashet Grove making the other two semi-finalists.
The first semi-final in the under 16 saw Plashet Grove beating Newark FC on penalties after gruelling sudden death shoot-out. They would face London Athletics in the final as they defeated Shadwell Youth Organisation 1-0.
Shahed Miah player of Soul FC quoted:
“This is one of the most organised and well-run tournaments that I have played in, as all the teams knew exactly what times their fixtures were and what pitch to be play on. I hope this tournament happens again next year.”
Sana Miah (Osmani Trust Football Coach) who organised the tournament said:
“The Canary Wharf Summer Cup brings to an end a whole summer of football tournaments organised by Osmani Trust, we have to give hundreds of young people the platform to play structured football in a safe environment, I would like to extend my thanks to Canary Wharf for their generous support and all the staff and volunteers involved throughout the summer”.
The Canary Wharf Summer Cup Finals took place on Saturday 15th August where the teams had the opportunity to play at The David Beckham Academy. The Under 14 category kicked off the first final between Clichy FC and Shadwell BBK, with Clichy FC taking the lead within the first five minutes by playing some neat passing moves. Clichy FC also taking control of the game by scoring a further two goals to give them a three goal led. Shadwell BBK fought back by scoring a goal and created more chances but was unable to capitalise. On a counter-attack Clichy FC scored their fourth goal and killed off any hope of comeback from Shadwell BBK.
The Under 16 category final saw Plashet Grove take on London Athletic. As expected it was a tight affair, with both teams unable to break the deadlock as the first half ended goalless. In the second half, London Athletic took the lead very early after some good possession football. They kept piling on the pressure; however, Plashet Grove managed to nick a goal on the counter-attack to level the scores.
London Athletic played some great football and capitalised by scoring a further two goals to take a 3-1 cushion. Plashet Grove were not yet finished as they came back to make 3-2, setting up a tense final five minutes. Plashet Grove kept piling on the pressure winning five consecutive corners as the whole team moved up to try and get the equaliser, even the goal keeper joined the attack. Unfortunately, London Athletic took advantage of the space left by Plashet Grove and a decisive fourth goal to win the match 4-2.
The winners and runners up were all presented the awards by the Assistant Coaches Director at the David Beckham Academy, Steve Emmanuelle.
The overall winners and runners up of the Canary Wharf Summer Cup 2009 were as follows:
Winners
Under 14: Clichy FC
Under 16: London Athletic
Runners – Up
Under 14: Shadwell BBK
Under 16: Plashet Grove
For more information on the services offered by Osmani Trust please contact Sana Miah on 0207 247 8080 or sana.miah@osmanitrust.org