British University of Bahrain (BUB) won the Rotary Club of Manama’s 6-a-side charity football tournament by defeating Amigos 2-1 in a gripping final at the Bahrain Rugby Football Club (BRFC) last night.
BUB took the lead just a couple of minutes into the game and maintained a stranglehold on their opponents, scoring again before the end of the first half. Amigos tried to counterattack in the second half, but the BUB goalkeeper foiled several attempts at goal with some brilliant saves. The pressure eventually told on BUB when, with just minutes to go before full-time, Amigos managed to get on the scoreboard but it was too little too late and, soon, the BUB players were celebrating their victory.
The tournament, a regular annual fixture since 1976, was being played for the first time since 2019 after a forced hiatus because of Covid-19. 20 teams had signed up for the event, with five sides each slotted in four groups.
The winners of each group entered the semi-finals but, not before there was drama at the end of the group stage with BRFC and Amigos – and Turk Transport and NBB 1 – ending level on points in their respective groups. The resulting play-offs saw Amigos defeat BRFC 5-4 and NBB 1 prevail 4-3 over Turk Transport, leading to a semi-final line-up that saw Amigos facing NBB 1 and BUB taking on Almoayyed Wilhelmsen.
“I’m extremely happy with the turnout,” Rotary Club of Manama president Osama Almoayed told the GDN as he watched the first semi-final get underway. “All 20 teams showed up, there’s a sizeable crowd on hand to enjoy the proceedings and we have 30 sponsors. Everyone is eager to support the causes that the funds generated from this tournament will go towards.”
The initiatives include helping children with disabilities, educating teachers on how to detect early signs of disabilities in children and helping Bahrainis living below the poverty line, Almoayed added.
A festive atmosphere prevailed throughout the duration of the tournament which started in the afternoon and concluded in the night. A live band belted out classics in the food court nearby while, pitch-side, a DJ kept everyone’s adrenalin pumping with some popular dance track remixes.
The club’s director of vocational services, Robert Timmers, who had organised the tournament, was keeping score, consulting with referees to ascertain final scores after each game – a difficult task because, in the group stage, there would be four games taking place at the same time. A 6-a-side game lasts for just 30 minutes, divided into two halves, and is played on a shortened pitch, about half the length and breadth of a regular football ground.
“It’s hard, but it’s fun,” Timmers exclaimed, smiling from behind his laptop where he was using a spreadsheet to collate all the information from the various games. “And we’re working in tandem to support special causes, so it’s every bit worth it.”
A roar went up from the supporters of a winning team and everyone turned to see who it was.
“This tournament wouldn’t have been possible without Robert … and that gentleman,” Almoayed said, gesturing towards a gray-haired man who was talking to one of the players. “That’s Christophe Balet and he and Robert basically put the whole show together.”
Later, after the Amigos had thrashed NBB 1 4-0 and BUB knocked the stuffing out of Almoayed Wilhelmsen in a 6-1 drubbing to set up a final clash, MC Thomas Harrington, who had livened up proceedings throughout the afternoon and early evening, took things to another level.
“Come on, everyone, sing along to this,” he shouted, to the supporters of both teams as they watched their sides clash in the final, before breaking into an a capella version of ‘Sweet Caroline’. Soon, everyone was singing along.
Then, once BUB had sealed their championship win, all eyes turned to the play-off for third place between NBB 1 and Almoayyed Wilhelmsen that had gone to penalties after a 2-2 full-time score-line.
“This is football at its best,” Harrington roared in his Liverpool accent, as the players lined up to take their shots.
“But this is not,” he chuckled as successive penalty kicks by players of both teams were either stopped or went wide of the mark. “This is becoming a comedy of errors.”
Soon, however, it was all over as the Almoayyed Wilhelmsen goalkeeper stopped a shot from an NBB 1 player, settling the issue 4-3 in his team’s favour.
“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is that,” Harrington said, dramatically.
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