London 2011; A Huge Success

London 2011 has come to an exciting culmination and everyone involved can agree that it was a great success. The competitive and exciting football, the engaging events with our supporting organisations, the shared meals, the stadium tours, and the newly formed friendships between students all lent to an enriching and fulfilling experience for all. The effort and organization put into London 2011  proved more than worthwhile and will surely be the source of some unforgettable memories in the city of London. We would like to express our appreciation for all of our friends, supporters and our sponsors who helped make London 2011 an unforgettable experience.


Once again, thank you and congratulations to everyone involved - we hope this is the first of many International Football tournaments hosted by Football Beyond Borders!

ULFC Crowned Football Beyond Borders: London 2011 Champions

Football Beyond Borders: London 2011 finished with co-hosts SOAS and the University of London playing out a 0-0 draw after extra time, with ULFC eventually triumphing 5-4 on penalties.

The match itself was a typicallly tense and physical English cup final, with both sides defending strongly and attacking unconvincingly. To be fair to the English representatives, both teams were understrength, and coming in from a very tough week of football, on a very warm July afternoon at Wadham Lodge, in East London.

For their part, ULFC had only eleven men, and winger Reed Cataldo was carrying a knock so severe that for the full 120 minutes he was acting only as applied pressure to SOAS' defence, and as a 'wall' to play passes against. Cataldo worked tirelessly throughout though, and it was the absence of key creative midfielder Chris Michael which really hindered them, as they struggled to play it through midfield, resorting to long-ball tactics and staying compact in defence. It was a style of play which ULFC had used previously against Paysandú, and in periods against the AUC. Although it was criticised by many as being a negative tactic, it showed the strength of the ULFC players, who all season have been playing free-flowing attacking football under head coach Andy Zeller. With Zeller away throughout the tournament, and with key players missing, they instead put a truly English performance on display for the visiting teams in attendance!

SOAS, in contrast, stuck to their attractive style of play and passed the ball around their midfield and defence extensively, dominating possession and keeping the ball well. However, without key forwards Toib Olomowewe and Juan Dorrego, they were somewhat blunt in the final third, and with ULFC's compact defensive shape they struggled to create real openings.

However SOAS it was who cam closest to opening the scoring, as an opening created on the left by Kain and Watfa left Alex Skinner with time to shoot just inside the penalty box, but his firm strike was beaten away by Bailey. The next chance fell to Omar Salha, as the ball fell to him in the box after a cross from Omacar was not cleared properly. He volleyed well into the ground, but the deflected shot was scrambled away by Bailey, low down to his left.

The second-half saw less clear chances created, but with Theo Ohene getting on the ball more for ULFC, the threat of a breakaway goal was always present. However SOAS centre-backs Alex Kaszyicki-Williams, and in particular former ULFC player Erhan Sancak, defended superbly to keep the threat at bay.

The threat of Ohene and Chapman continued into extra time, but it was SOAS who almost snatched the game-winning moment, as in the dying minutes Taurean Antoine-Chagar found space on the left-hand side of the box, and with ULFC defenders Shane Gaughan and Owain Tomblin (who were both superb throughout) fearful of giving away a penalty, Antoine-Chagar was able to chip the ball goalwards, only to be denied what would have been a stunning victory goal by a fingertip save from Bailey, which took it onto the crossbar.

With both 90 minutes and extra time unable to separate the teams, it came down to a penalty shoot-out.

ULFC captain Owain Tomblin stepped up first and fired home confidently, before Jasper Kain's penalty sneaked and bobbled it's way past co-organiser Sam Bailey (much to the annoyance of the ULFC goalkeeper) to make it 1-1. Rob Walls stepped up for ULFC, and confidently sent SOAS keeper Emmanuel Boateng the wrong way to give ULFC a 2-1 lead. Jack Reynolds' penalty was unconvincing, with Bailey again getting a hand on it, but his tactic of going down the middle paid off to make it equal after two penalties each.

A confident penalty from Theo Ohene kept the pressure on for SOAS, who's captain Joseph Watfa then stepped up for the third penalty, but Bailey guessed right for the third time and this time managed to keep it out, to give ULFC the edge. Another good penalty from Shane Gaughan maintained ULFC's advantage, and though Timothy Omacar sent Bailey the wrong way with a well-placed finish, the younger Gaughan brother Chris again sent Boateng the wrong way with an assured penalty, to give ULFC the victory. SOAS won't be too dissapointed though, as the five games they played won them many admirers, and will serve as a great warm-up for the players going out to the Middle East this September.



Although an all-English final was not the expected (or particularly wanted) result of an epic week of football, both ULFC and SOAS deserved their place in the final, with both teams winning crucial final fixtures on Tuesday 26th and Thursday 28th July.

On Tuesday 26th, SOAS overcame Paysandú 3-2 in an exciting end-to-end game, with Timesh Pillay scoring twice to seal the victory. Meanwhile ULFC beat Egyptian visitors AUC 2-0 in an vital and very hotly-contested game, and Adnan Menderes beat Helsinki 4-3 to grab their first points of the tournament.

On Thursday 28th, the early kick-off saw Helsinki and Paysandú play out a great game of football, with the well-tempered 4-4 draw not only showcasing great attacking football, but also truly displaying the spirit of Football Beyond Borders. SOAS then recorded a second 3-2 victory in two days, this time against the AUC, whilst ULFC saw off Adnan Menderes 3-0 in the day's final game.The last two day's results meant that no team left without a result to their name, which was a nice touch to round-off the group stages of the tournament.

The Football Beyond Borders Fair Play Award, awarded to the team who played the game and participated in the project in the best spirit, was given to the University of Helsinki, who made plenty of new friends with their sporting attitude, their disciplined and spirited performances, and their enthusiasm and well-mannered natures throughout their time here.

We would like to thank all of the teams who participated, for making the tournament such a resounding success, and also such an enjoyable event to run, and also all those who came down to support the teams down at The Hive or at Wadham Lodge. We hope to see you all again at future Football Beyond Borders events!

London 2011: Results so far

Football Beyond Borders: London 2011 kicked-off this weekend with six great games down at The Hive Football Centre in Edgware.

After the late withdrawal of Damascus University and the University of Manchester, the tournament itself was slimmed down to a six-way affair, with four group games to be played each. The top two teams will meet in the final on Saturday 30th July at Wadham Lodge Sports Ground.

On Saturday 23rd, co-hosts University of London FC fell to a shock 2-0 defeat at the hands of Paysandú Universitario from Uruguay. The defeat was ULFC's first loss since November 2010, and came at the hands (feet) of their striker Juan Dorrego, who opened the scoring early on with a penalty before sealing the result in the dying minutes,  finishing off a counter-attack as ULFC pressed for a winner.

Juan is in a unique position, as he is eligible to play for 3 of the 6 competing teams! He is currently reading an MA at SOAS, and has been a star player for both SOAS and ULFC for the past season. Born in Paysandú,  he moved to London after completing his degree at the Universidad de la República and playing football for Paysandú. In Uruguay - where República is the only state university - student football is split into teams made up of students from various regions, who play in teams made up of players from their home town. Paysandú were formed as a club in 2004, and since then have gone from strength to strength, and have here impressed everyone with their direct, attacking style of play. In this game ULFC could reasonably count themselves unlucky, having hit the bar twice and had two penalty appeals turned down, whilst Paysandú scored their only two clear chances. However, lacking the guidance of coach Andy Zeller, it was an undisciplined performance from the Purples.

On the adjacent pitch, pre-tournament favourites AUC (Egypt) sneaked past Adnan Menderes Üniversitesi from Turkey 2-1 in a game which could have gone either way. Incredibly, Adnan Menderes missed two penalties in the first 15 minutes, before the AUC snuck ahead and then wasted chance after chance in front of goal.

In the final game of the day, SOAS comfortably overcame the University of Helsinki 3-1, with Helsinki's late penalty (which was saved, before the rebound was scored) making it four penalties in the first three games, only one of which was converted!

Yesterday the teams returned to The Hive for the second round of group games, in what proved to be quite an extraordinary day results-wise.

At 1pm, both London-based SOAS and ULFC recorded 8-0 victories, over Adnan Menderes and Helsinki respectively. The scorelines portray an image of two completely one-sided games, but this wasn't really the case - football, as they say, is a funny old game.

At 3pm came the match-up of the day, as Paysandú faced the AUC. Having each won their opening games, both teams were keen to sneak ahead of the other in this vital clash.

The game itself was very even, with both teams creating chances and looking dangerous in the counter-attack. After around 20 minutes played AUC took the lead, and managed to hold on until half-time, partly thanks to a couple of great saves from their goalkeeper, who plays in the Egyptian premier Division back at home.

Paysandú fought back, and midway through the first half almost pulled level, striking the bar from a one-on-one. However it was AUC who wrapped up a 2-0 victory, scoring directly from a corner to break Uruguayan hearts. Only temporarily though, as the Paysandú boys celebrated Uruguay's Copa America victory over Paraguay into the early hours of this morning!

Tuesday the 26th will see Helsinki and Adnan Menderes both look to open their accounts at 5pm, and at 7pm SOAS and ULFC both have important games against Paysandú and the AUC respectively.

Thursday 28th will see the final round of games as Helsinki and Paysandú match up at 5pm, with SOAS playing the AUC and Adnan Menderes facing ULFC at 7pm.

If you can, come down and support the teams! The Hive is easy to reach, being a short walk from Canons Park, Queensbury and Burnt Oak stations. Directions can be found here

SOAS vs. Elmina Sharks

SOAS vs. Elmina Sharks - won 2-0.

Hard fought, every step of the way.

Congratulations to Nick!

SOAS vs. Africa United Football Club

SOAS vs. Africa United Football Club

Lost 3-2 - Scorers: Sami Hamdi, Timothy Omacar

Football Beyond Borders 2010 kicks off

After all the hype, Football Beyond Borders 2010 was beginning to unravel. A day of travelling and then another to recover. Yet we now found ourselves on the side of a bone-dry pitch, on a humid Saturday afternoon. This wasn’t for the faint hearted; fast paced technical football from the Ghanaian University Champions represented a different footballing culture to the British one that encouraged hopeful long balls and last ditch slide tackles. We would soon find ourselves toiling away, “pass and move” with an effortless physical prowess that left us chasing shadows.

One-nil down at half-time and almost every sinew of energy exerted, “don’t chase the ball” just “let the ball do the work” the coaches told us. Yet the round ‘ball’ that we’d all grown up with, the ‘ball’ that we’d kicked together back home uniting us as friends now seemed so different. This was a ‘ball’ that was hard to retain and even harder to retrieve. British brute force was futile in the face of this African artistry, the Ghanaians danced on the ball and we were forced to watch and learn as we ran in vain. This was a baptism of fire into the Sub-Saharan African heat.