The fifth JSC In-House Football Tournament witnessed a fitting finale at the Dunk Football Ground in Samir District with thrilling matches, which spilled into nerve-raking tie-breakers, and a grand concluding ceremony recently. The Jeddah Spots Club (JSC) Soccer Academy, pioneer in imparting training to expatriate boys in Jeddah, conducted the tournament in three divisions — 9 to 12 age group, 14 to 17 and parents. And Tuskers, Fighters and Blasters lifted trophies in the 9-12, 14-17 and Parents divisions, respectively. Turskers completely dominated the game and outplayed Blasters in the 9-12 Division final, with Man-of-the-Final Aftab firing in a hat trick. Aftab also won the Player of the Tournament and Top Scorer titles. Other award winners were: Faiz Ismail — Best Goalkeeper, Esam — Best Defender, Abdul Rahman — Best Midfielder, and Yaseen — Best Striker. The 14-17 Division final was very exciting as the players kept the spectators on the edge of their seats. The match eventually went to penalties and Fighters won 5-4 in sudden death against Tuskers. The award winners were: Nufais — Player of the Final, Afnan Ashraf — Player of the Tournament and Best Goalkeeper, Basil Nazar and Nujoom Nazer — Top Scorers, Salman Safar — Best Defender, Sahal P.K — Best Midfielder, and Nujoom — Best Striker. In the final for the parents of the trainees, Blasters defeated Tuskers with the only goal scored by Zaheer P.R., who was declared the Player of the Final and Player of the Tournament. The other awards went to: Basheer Machingal — Top Scorer, Mansoor — Best Goalkeeper, Ashfar — Best Defender, Haneefa — Best Midfielder and Junaiz — Best Striker. Ram Narayan Iyer, executive editor of Saudi Gazette, was the chief guest on the final day. Other guests who graced the finale were were K.O. Paulson, sports editor, Saudi Gazette; P.M. Mayin Kutty, president, JeddahIndian Media Forum; Nizar, marketing manager, EFS Logistics; and Artist O.B. Nazer. JSC's ex-trainee Basil Basheer conducted the proceedings, while Zamir Kannur, Sadiq Edakkad, Fayaz Ibraim and Ashfaq were in charge of the ground activities. JSC Soccer Academy has now a whopping 120 trainees in the age group of 6 to 18 years. Its coaching panel consists of 8 prominent footballers, who have previously represented Indian national team and other renowned professional clubs in India. The main sponsors of the academy are Mobil 1, Tamer, EFS Logistics and Sedco.
