Taiwan’s junior soccer teams have shown that they can compete with the best from around Asia, with the under-12 girls of the Taipei Breakers finishing second at an international tournament in Singapore that was held on April 28 and 29.
Five Taiwanese teams in the under-11 to under-13 levels participated in Singapore’s annual Junior Soccer School and League (JSSL) International Sevens competition, which is played with seven players on a side for a regulation 22-minute match.
The Taipei Breakers were the first Taiwanese girls’ team to enter the JSSL competition, and they surprised everyone by putting together a winning run through the group stage and into the knockout round, team coach Daniel Calvert said.
Photo: courtesy of Taipei Breakers
They were only stopped in the final, losing 2-0 in a tight contest against the Tai Tam Tigers from Hong Kong, but the girls can be proud of their outstanding performance in the competition, said Calvert, a Briton who coaches at Taipei’s Master Football Academy (MFA).
MFA coaches and officials were responsible this year for training the teams and making the preparations for the five junior teams to take part in the competition.
“All the players picked up lots of experience for the future. It was good for all the players to see what top junior teams from around Asia, and from around the world, play like... For these kids from Taiwan, they have learned much about the higher competition levels, and fostered a stronger team spirit,” Calvert said in an interview last week.
Taipei Breakers manager Elle Bowe said the girls really pushed themselves hard at this tournament, and their second-place finish was a big morale boost for the players and their parents, who supported them all the way.
“For this tournament and the trip to Singapore, the preparations and logistics were all organized by MFA. The parents also came together to be with their kids, and attended the games to cheer them on,” Bowe said.
“It was the first time for the girls to participate in this competition, so it was a terrific result and all members of the team can be proud of this achievement,” she said.
Nine girls participated on the under-12 team, training three times a week over three months, Bowe added.
The boys also picked up valuable experience at the competition, which had 350 teams from 15 nations, including junior academy teams from famous soccer clubs such as English clubs Manchester United, Liverpool and Fulham; Spanish club Valencia; Japanese club Urawa Reds; and Australian club Perth Glory, Calvert said.
Taiwanese players also had the opportunity to meet the two tournament ambassadors and to take group photographs with former English soccer players Teddy Sheringham and Paul Parker.
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