B12 ECNL Takes On Top International Competition in London

B12 ECNL and Coach Tariq Walcott recently traveled to London to compete in the Thames Ironworks Cup U14 Tournament hosted by local club West Ham United. We caught up with Coach Tariq to see how it went.

Our trip to England was an incredible experience for the boys and myself; it provided us with a view of the level of soccer abroad, and also provided us with memories that will last a lifetime. 

We started the week long journey off with sightseeing of the most famous places in London: The London Eye, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace. The following day we attended a Premier League match at Craven Cottage, home of Fulham FC, where they earned a tough 3 points against Tottenham Hotspur. 

We then continued our sight seeing with a tour of the Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal FC. After the fun we geared up for our friendlies against Aston Villa from Birmingham and Queens Park Rangers from West London with training sessions in the famous ‘football cages’ that England is known for.

Before the competition began, we gave ourselves some added motivation by attending the England vs. Albania World Cup Qualifier at Wembley Stadium with over 80,000 fans in attendance. A truly special moment to witness Thomas Tuchel’s first match in charge of the 3 Lions. 

The tournament kicked off the following weekend, where we faced Leicester City from the Midlands, PPJ Helsinki from Finland, and hosts West Ham United of East London, who eventually were crowned champions of the tournament beating Arsenal FC.

Day two of the competition continued with matches against Crusaders FC from Northern Ireland and a rematch against Leicester City. Our match against Crusaders went to a penalty shootout, where we prevailed 5-4 with help from our goalkeeper Finn, who saved an almost impossible penalty from a top player on Crusaders.

All in all the trip was a success on and off the pitch. The boys explored a new part of the world, bonded together for 8 days, and competed against some of the top academies in not only England, but the world. This is an experience we will never forget. Thank you to Orange Veins and West Ham United Academy for providing us with such an opportunity. 

Coach Tariq Walcott