A YOUNG Tekkers Academy team won the women’s football final and Balaleet, named after a famous Egyptian delicious salty and sweet breakfast dish, served up success in the men’s competition, at the inaugural Goals for a Goal charity event.
But the main winner was Tony the Dogfather following the success of the initiative organised by student Jasmin El-sayed who regularly volunteers at his animal sanctuary in Saar.
The action kicked off last Friday at the RSCI sports ground in Basateen with league formats and the top two teams then went on to compete in a final match for the trophies.
Tekkers, inspired by the talented Ciccy Sharon, who picked up the ‘player of the day’ accolade, narrowly beat Ravens, 1-0. Sharon scored the decisive goal and a brave display by goalkeeper Dana Noor kept the tough-tackling opponents at bay and helped her pick up the goalie-of-the-day prize.
Aziz Showaiter and Hassan Khawaja scored for unstoppable Balaleet and Hamed Rowari picked up a brave in a convincing 4-0 victory over Al Shargi. Five other sides - Malaeb, Al Baraka Bank, Jawad, Gunners and RCSI – competed in the men’s tournament.
Player-of-the-day went to the runner-up’s star Abdullah Budhaish and his teammate Abdul Aziz Atya won the goalie accolade.
Big-hearted El-sayed played for Seef who were overwhelmed by the strength-in-depth of the top two in the women’s league. But off the pitch she was delighted to have raised around BD1,000 and attract a donation of pet food from Bed & Biscuits Dog Training School.
The 22-year-old Arab Open University student was born and raised in Denmark with Palestinian roots and has lived in Bahrain for the past seven years. “I play football three times a week,” she said. “It’s my vision that Goals for a Goal continues and I aim to host a football tournament every three months for different causes.”
