With the Lionesses looking for World Cup glory this year, SJ Football knew it was time to hold our very own SJ World Cup… with a twist! Not only could players use their feet to pass and score goals, but they also had the ability to kick the ball into their teammates hands and continue the match as netball!
We released the sign-up link, and were overwhelmed to have a full list within 24 hours – we were joined by our regulars, some new faces and even some advanced youth!
The atmosphere was absolutely incredible. We had 4 countries – France, Argentina, England and Morocco – who participated in the tournament. And every single game had the spectators at the edge of their seats, chai in one hand and a mandazi in the other.
France showed some excellent footwork, dribbling around their opponents with ease. England made an insane comeback and worked well as a team, topping the table and placing first place in the play-offs. Morocco showed off the different skills in their team and were able to effortlessly move between their hands and feet. But it was Argentina who stopped everyone in their tracks and walked away with the title of World Cup Champion. They scored an insane 3 goals in the final and everyone watched in the last 30 seconds as the ball flew from hand to hand before it rocketed into the bottom corner of the net.
All in all, it was a fantastic night of football (and netball too!) – it was lovely seeing the teams come together and build on each other’s strengths, resulting in some great talent being showcased by our community.
Although it took time for the players to embrace the exciting ‘twist’, everyone agreed on one thing by the end of the evening – don’t mess with a beautiful sport, holding the ball should only mean one thing – a foul!
Thank you to everyone for making the evening so exciting, and we can’t wait to see you all around for our weekly football sessions
