Ex-students of the International Indian School, Jeddah (IISJ) recently organized a two-day football tournament in honor of Rasheed Alikkal (Rasheed Sir), who mentored them during their school days and helped refine their footballing skills. The Rasheed Sir FT20 Tournament was organized by a team of seven ex-students of IISJ namely Amjad Hasan, Asim Zeeshan, Atif Khan, Mohsin Sharif, Nabeel Shaikh, Nadir Hameed and Waleed Wafi. The team brought together almost 120 ex-students for the event, which was held at two football grounds of the Manarat Schools Jeddah. Only ex-students of IISJ were allowed to participate. Fifteen teams with 8 players each were registered for the tournament with players ranging from batches of the early 2000s and as young as last year. The organizers experimented with a unique format for the FT20 Tournament. Each team would play with 5 players on the field (including goalkeeper) and a match would finish in 20 minutes, without any break. All group stage matches (30) were played on the first day. From the group stage, Athletic Alliance, FC Brotherz and Odaba FC from Group A, Barca and Suicide Squad from Group B and Spartans FC, Catalonia and Gladiators from Group C, progressed to the quarterfinals. The knockout matches, including the final were played on the second day. In the quarterfinals, Gladiators beat Barca 1-0, Catalonia won 3-1 against FC Brotherz, Spartans FC defeated Odaba FC 3-1 and Athletic Alliance brushed aside Suicide Squad 3-0 to progress into the semifinals. In the semis, Catalonia players used their sharp coordination to score regularly in a 4-1 win against Gladiators. Spartans FC secured a place in the final with a 3-1 win against Athletic Alliance. In the third Place match, Athletic Alliance came back from 2 goals down to level the scores 2-2 against Gladiators, and won the penalty shootout when Mohammed and Majid (of Gladiators) missed the first two penalties. Spartans FC crushed Catalonia 5-1 in the final to emerge champion. Waleed (1), Khalid (1), Saeed (1) and Emad (2) scored for the winner. Olyan reduced the margin for Catalonia. Nadir Hameed was awarded the Best Goalkeeper prize and Saeed Naser (8 goals) won the Top Scorer trophy. The organizers dedicated the tournament as a mark of gratitude to Rasheed Sir for his guidance and extensive work with IISJ students for years.
