The Online Citizen A Community of Singaporeans PRESS RELEASE
Thursday 5th July 2012 – After a small delay the Danone Nations Cup Singapore finally is officially upon us. The Singapore final, which will crown a representing Singapore team to face the rest of the world in September, will take place on Sunday 8th of July at Yio Chu Kang Stadium between 5 teams.
The 5 teams competing are as follows:-
Braveheart Soccer Academy
Fandi Ahmad Academy (FAA)
Global Football Academy
JSSL Arsenal
WSA Soccer Academy
The opening game of the tournament will see Braveheart Soccer Academy from Woodlands taking on Fandi Ahmad Academy from Tampines at 5pm, with the full fixture schedule available at the website.
Each team will then play each other once in a 5 team league. Once the league phase has finished, 1st and 2nd place will face off in the first ever Danone Nations Cup Singapore final, due for kickoff at 8pm on Sunday night.
Speaking about the National finals, organizer Yusliza Jamri of Dr Futbol believes some of the children taking part will shock those watching.
“We have been monitoring the youth football in the lead up to the tournament and the level of talent on show is going to shock a lot of onlookers. Singapore has some children with incredible football ability and it is truly going to be an eye opener for the nation this Sunday.”
“Youth football is football at its purist and most innocent. For me, the inauguration of the Danone Nations Cup in Singapore is the crowning moment in the years footballing calender. It is not about the winning, but the taking part. I truly hope everybody can come and support the children and give them an unforgettable evening. It is only the start of a great journey for them”.
To keep up to date on the latest Danone Nations Cup news, make sure to like the official facebook page, found here.
The Teams (PART 1):-
WSA Soccer Academy
WSA Soccer Academy is a te!m started with pure intentions. Formed in March 2008, the academy originated when Said Alwi and Alias Ahmad decided to invite boys to play football around Woodlands Estate.
&ldquo%sBWe saw many kids hanging around under the void deck, playing guitar and smoking cigarettes, playing football at basketball courts” said Said Alwi, “We decided to open up an academy to invite these boys to play football rather than hanging around and mixing in the wrong companies. In other words, we are partly doing our part for the community”.
Soon after forming word spread around Woodlands about the academy and players of all ages started to pour in. WSA Soccer Academy got a few coaches to help with the programme and started training in a school field in Sembawang every Sunday from 8.30am until 10.30am.
Since forming in 2008 the team has gone on to win a number of honours with their U12′s winning tournaments such as “The Kiddo Kickers Challenge Trophy”, “Central Singapore CDC Tournament” and the “FPSG Tournament” over the years.
After entering the Danone Nations Cup Singapore Finals, WSA Soccer Academy have seem their preparations and training increase to get ready for the tournament.
“The boys have been training for 3 times a week in the school holidays and now about twice a week on Saturday and Sunday”, commented Said Alwi.
With a few players also training in the Junior COE and JSA (MOE) and the WSA Soccer Academy having played together for a few years, we can expect a strong outing from WSA Soccer Academy.
JSSL Arsenal
JSSL Arsenal are one of the most reknown academies in the whole of Singapore. Developed under the world class training methods of English football team Arsenal, JSSL are sure to bring silky passing and exquisite technique to the Danone Nations Cup Singapore Finals.
The JSSL Arsenal team is set to consist of a mixture of players from their last season U12 Teams – Van Persie and Walcott. Having trained together for the whole of last season and some even from as young as 4 and 5 years old, the JSSL Arsenal team are certainly used to the big occasion.
This was reflected in both Van Persie and Walcott’s past season campaigns. Van Persie were crowned champions going the whole season undefeated while Walcott ended in 4th place. The Van Persie team has also competed in international tournaments in Bangkok, Hanoi, KL and Sweden last season winning all of the tournaments on Asian soil, even being illustriously highlighted in Singapores “The New Paper”.
No less than 6 of the 14 man squad have been offered places at the Singapore Sports School for 2013 with most already being a part of the FAS COE (centre of excellence) since it was set up. The rest of the team have all been offered DSA’s at Victoria School, TK or SJI.
JSSL Arsenal currently train on Saturdays and Wednesdays while playing league matches on Sundays. On July 8th 2012, they certainly look the team to beat.
For more information and interview questions, you may e-mail the organizer Yusliza Jamri.