27 January 2020:

Eighty British International School, Phuket (BISP) students travelled to Bangkok recently to play in the Harrow International Football 7s.

BISP entered both boys’ and girls’ teams in the U9, U11, U13 and U15 age groups. Just like the BISP Soccer 7s, the tournament ran over two days, from Friday 17 – Saturday 18 January.

After a successful first day of football, seven BISP teams advanced to Saturday’s ‘Champions League’. BISP then went on to win both the U9 girls’, U15 girls’ and U15 boys’ competitions. All the BISP sides finished within the top five of their respective divisions.

For many of the young U9 players – most of whom were Year 4 –  it was their first time travelling by air to an international tournament wearing BISP colours. 

BISP Cruzeiro U9 Football coach, Andre Velloso, said the boys had great fun and relished the opportunity to play in another big international school football tournament.

“The boys had a great tournament and I was very proud of how they played and worked as a team against some strong competition. Our defensive line was really good. Everyone had a positive experience,” he said.

Teacher Simone Giani – coach of the victorious U9 girls’ –  said the team played the best football she had ever seen them play.

“The girls showed fantastic teamwork, accurate striking and strong defence.

“Over two days they scored a massive 22 goals and didn’t concede a single goal. The respect, kindness and resilience demonstrated by all the players made me a very proud coach.”

BISP Athletics Director, Jeff LaMantia, said the large group of students showed a high standard of behaviour both on and off the pitch.

“The students wore the Sea Eagle with pride and were a credit to our school and the BISP football programme,” he said.

Full results

U9 girls: 1st
U9 boys: 5th
U11 girls: 5th
U11 boys: 2nd
U13 girls: 4th
U13 boys: 3rd
U15 girls: 1st
U15 boys: 1st

For more information on the BISP Cruzeiro Football Academy, please contact [email protected].