As part of the guidelines for the tournament, a group of three were to be combined with another group of the same size. I paired up with Eben and Mathew from 11th and 10th grade respectively, and we were combined with a very young group from the Shangalia school. These children were between 5 to 17 so there was a huge mix. However each of the had more technical talent than I could ever imagine and so it became very fun to play. I did my best to ensure that everyone I played with or against felt welcomed and confident of playing. It did become hard on occasions, especially when I was fouled several times but it is all part of the game. Despite captaining the loosing side, and myself missing a penalty which eliminated us from the tournament, my group felt happy of being able to play with such a big group with huge potential. Ms Houriez later told me that I should win the Fairest Player Award (if there was one) but I believe that my type of conduct today was something all athletes should strive for, as a game can not be enjoyable without sportsmanship or respect for your opponents.
I wish the tournament was better organised but I can understand the problems they encountered because not all people who signed up actually came to the event. However, we shared laughs with so many new people and I particularly enjoyed playing football again since I have not had the time to play the game.
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