Now in its 14th edition, the 2015 BISP Soccer Sevens is the biggest edition of the tournament ever held at the international school, with more teams and more schools entering – an astounding 1,600 competitors in 144 teams, representing 40 international schools based in 11 countries – and more young talent waiting to show off their skills on the pitch.
Held over two days, today and tomorrow (6-7 November), the 14th BISP Soccer Sevens features international schools from throughout Asia, with teams from schools including Bangkok Patana School, Alice Smith School in Kuala Lumpur, United World College of South East Asia from Singapore, Dulwich College Beijing, British School Manila, Taipei European School, Stonehill International School from India, and Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong, to name just a few.
Even though it’s a junior competition, the level of football to be seen in the tournament is very high, as BISP Cruzeiro Football Academy Head Coach Jonathas Candido told The Phuket News.
“I was surprised by the level at last year’s competition and it gets taken very seriously,” he said. “And as it’s seven-a-side – it’s faster and you see players under pressure a lot of the time.”
Having won three titles last year (Under 9 Boys, Under 15 Girls, and Over 15 Boys), he is confident about BISP's chances going into this year's tournament.
“I think because of the quality of the players we have and the foundations we built last year we are going to play good football,” he explained.
All the BISP teams in this year’s tournament are of a good standard, however, the senior boys team are likely to be the team to watch out for.
But the competition is not just about winning for Jonathas and the teams taking part, it’s also about individual development of BISP's players.
A number of them are scholarship students who receive intensive extra training, being at the school to primarily focus on developing their skills, and aiming to pursuing a career in football.
Jonathas said, “Those boys are a step further forward than the rest and we expect them to show off their skills and abilities in their games.”
The first day will see the teams compete in group stages, the second day will be the knockout phase. Games will see two halves of 12 minutes, with 4 points for a win, 2 for a draw, and 1 for a loss.
“It will be really intense football which will be great to watch,” said Jonathas.
Moving forward, it is Jonathas’ dream to hold an 11-a-side competition at the school.
“I’m from Brazil and we don’t play seven-a-side football there. We do have an 11-a-side tournament here at BISP that we hold in March. This year was the first year it was held, but I’m sure next year it will be bigger and more teams will come to compete.
“Seeing how many players teams come to compete in the BISP Soccer Sevens, if we did have an 11-a-
side competition on the same scale it would be absolutely amazing,” Jonathas concluded.
It seems there is still much more football to come on the green fields of BISP.
For more information about the BISP Soccer Sevens, please visit www.bisp7s.com, or follow the action on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bisp7s. For more details on the BISP Cruzeiro Football Academy, visit www.bisphuket.ac.th/bisp-cruzeiro-football-academy or email Head Coach Jonathas Candido: jcandido@bisphuket.ac.th