Courtesy: The National


Rousy welcome for stars

By LUTHER SCAT LAMANG

THE Kokopo school soccer team was welcomed in a truly emotional gathering amidst tears of joy at Tokua Airport in East New Britain province on Monday afternoon.
Parents, relatives and friends of the soccer stars flocked to the airport hours before the team arrived and were greeted with laces of flowers, perfume power and placards expressing their joy of being reunited with their families.
The Kokopo school soccer team returned from the Australian National Futsal Championships in Canberra after participating in the week-long tournament.
Striker Nathan James won the top goal scorer of the tournament in Under 12 division and also collected the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
The team not only won the two awards but also won the hearts of many international football officials through their skills displayed during the tournament.
Coach Spencer Manhi said the results did not speak well for the team but he was proud that at least the boys had a feel of the international games played.
The coach highly praised the boys for their enthusiasm and confidence displayed in the games and said that the trip had imparted something more valuable to the boys.
He said that though the Australian level of football playing was high it was a great benefit for the boys to have a feel of international football and to be exposed to high level of football playing.
The trip was the first of its kind for a team from East New Britain and also the first for the country to play at the Futsal championships.
The coach said the Football Federation Australia (FFA) was very much impressed with the boysí performance and had asked them to attend more tournaments in the near future.
Mr. Manhi said surely the boys would be looking forward for possible international tournaments





Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com