KUALA LUMPUR: A rule allowing teams up to three players aged 45-49 has forced defending champion Melwood Boys FC to revise its target for this year’s UKRC Soccer 9s tournament.
The tournament, which began in 2001, will be held this weekend. Melwood Boys president M. Hari Chandran said his team will aim for the semifinals before thinking about retaining the title it won in style last year.
“If the tournament were still for the over-50s, I would be more confident, but with three players aged between 45 and 49 now allowed to play, it is going to be hard,” said Hari, 55.
“If there were only a slight age gap, it would be OK. As most of my players are the same age as I am, 10 years makes a lot of difference. Nonetheless, we are looking forward to the tournament and meeting old friends.”
Hari said the majority of last year’s winning team will return to defend their crown, while the inclusion of several younger players will add depth to the squad.
“It is a matter of fine-tuning the teamwork since they are new to the team,” said Hari, a lawyer by profession.
The ardent Liverpool supporter named his team Melwood Boys after the Reds’ famous training ground, which was named after two priests – Father Melling and Father Woodlock – who taught football at St Francis Xavier School.
Melwood Arena has two pristine pitches and floodlights. Continuing the Liverpool theme, the clubhouse has been christened ‘The Klopp House’, after former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
Melwood Boys will be joined in the tournament by six other teams – Bangkok Bitcoin FC of Thailand, Penang Sports Club, Interact Recreation Club Negeri Sembilan, Malacca Club Veterans, Malaysian Grasshoppers and UKRC Veterans. An eighth team is yet to be confirmed.
The competition has traditionally brought together veteran players from Malaysia and overseas, with an emphasis on fellowship and community as well as football.
Previous editions have featured teams from Singapore, Indonesia and Australia, alongside clubs from across Malaysia. Bangkok Bitcoin FC will provide the tournament’s international presence this year.
“We are confident more foreign teams will return next year. Several of them said their players spent a fortune following the Fifa World Cup in the United States earlier this year,” said UKRC president Brendan Lee.
The Trophy final will be played at 3pm on Sunday, followed by the prize presentation.
In addition to the main prizes for the champions and runners-up, the tournament will feature the Uncle Lee Memorial Trophy for the top scorer and the K. Suppiah Memorial Trophy for fair play.
