The 2014 Footy Force U13 Futsal Invitational concluded this past Sunday [Apr 13] with the finals played at the Bermuda College Gymnasium and Footy Force Green eventually crowned the tournament’s champions.

The Invitational had a total of 13 games played with 187 goals scored.

A spokesperson said, “In semi-final action, Footy Force Green 13 took on North Village Community Club [NVCC]. Footy Force started the game very focused, and they dominated the match from beginning to end.

“Zanikae Hendrickson scored a hat trick and Jhazii Johnson scored one goal for NVCC. Colin Zuill also scored a hat trick, with Jahiem Iris, Jenico Sealey, Tyrese Caines, and Nasje Brockington scoring twice and Kenfari Swan and Mikal Dill scoring once for Footy Force.

Bermuda’s Brazilian Football School [BBFS] played against Sidekick Soccer Academy, with this very exciting match seeing BBFS lead 3-1 in the second half. However, Sidekick Soccer Academy made a very spirited comeback to beat BBFS 4-3, reserving their place in the finals.”

“Micah Mendes, Reese Jones, and Amir Thomas scored once for BBFS. Matthew Leal lead Sidekick Soccer Academy by scoring twice, while Matthew Balitskiy and Malte Steines scored once for Sidekick Soccer Academy.

“In the tournament’s final match, Footy Force Green met with Sidekick Soccer Academy, seeing the host team play the international traveling team. Kenfari Swan led the Footy Force Green to victory with five goals.

“Colin Zuill scored four goals, Jenico Sealey scored twice, and Jaheim Iris, Nasje Brockington, and Tyrese Caines scored once for Footy Force. Goals for Sidekick Soccer Academy came from Sean Levesque, who scored twice, while Charlie Penzone, Matthew Steines, and Matthew Balitskiy scored once each.”

After the match ended, awards were given out to the tournament’s most outstanding performers:

• Leading Goal Scorer – Colin Zuill [Footy Force Green] – 22 goals
• Best Goal Scored – Sean Levesque [Sidekick Soccer Academy]
• Most Valuable Player – Kenfari Swan [Footy Force Green]

 

Peter Rickards, coach of Footy Force, said, “We wanted to bring something different to the players and parents, so we had the kids walk out of ‘the tunnel’ to their own theme music and individually introduced by the DJ. Futsal is growing in Bermuda; to have over 60 kids playing over a four night period to that level of quality and commitment was impressive.

“We invited the Sidekick Academy here to see what we are doing, to have an exchange of ideas and cultures and to that extent the event was a huge success.”

Zach Rocha, founder of Sidekick Soccer Academy, said, “The island of Bermuda is beyond beautiful and the people have been tremendously welcoming. We didn’t know what to expect but we have been very impressed with the quality of Bermuda’s young players.

“For our boys to be able to interact with kids their own age from another country was the highlight of the experience. We look forward to exchanging ideas on how we can grow the game and the relationships between the island and SideKicks Academy.”