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If proof was needed that sport transcends politics then those attending the Rotary Club of Manama's football tournament at the Bahrain Rugby Club last weekend will have left vilified.
Teams of all nationalities across a range of ages played with tremendous spirit, well governed by a team of referees provided by the Bahrain Football Association who kept control on the action with a smile on their faces, regularly interacting with the players, some of whom managed plenty of acting of their own ... the fact that the Spanish league is the most watched in the Middle East has clearly rubbed off on some!
The Bahrain women's team national goalkeeper, Huda Ali Salman, warmed up for a demonstration match by taking part in a penalty shoot out - what a wonderful advert for the game in Bahrain she proved to be. Arsenal Soccer School Bahrain kindly provided some ball-boys for those believing power rather than precision was the way to beat her!
Aided by the presence of several members of the national team, skills were also on view in the men's competition. The British Club did well to hold Bapco to a goalless draw in the semi-final, before succumbing on penalties, while a thrilling match saw Budget advance from their clash against Intercol.
The final was a tense affair with both sides creating chances. However, it was Budget that took the lead when they moved the ball quickly, leaving a tiring Bapco defence exposed.
Desperately needing to find an equaliser Bapco pressed forward, although they were unable to find a way past the resolute Budget defence. It was a only a matter of time before Budget took advantage, which they did, by burying a lightning quick shot deep into the back of the BAPCO net, resulting in a 2-0 victory.
The scoreline in the women's final makes it seem like a one-sided affair, although this isn't the case. The Arsenal Reds, fresh from the GulfWeekly women's league exploits, having reached the final with a comfortable victory over the National U-16 team, quickly went into a 2-0 lead. However, it took some frantic goal line defending to keep the clean sheet intact as the St Christopher's School team took it in turns to pummel the Arsenal goal.
At times Arsenal resorted to blanket defence with up to four players blocking shots on the line. However, they could not find a way through and Arsenal took advantage with some lightning fast breaks to secure a solid 3-0 victory.
The tournament was efficiently run by the Rotary's team of volunteers, including members of the sister association, Rotaract and families. However, the main efforts went on the fund-raising, with the Rotary team generating a massive BD26,000 for good causes.
More than 400 people flocked to support the annual Rotary Club of Manama's Six-a-side football tournament, in which 20 men's and 10 women's teams battled for glory.
"The whole day has been a great success," said Robert Timmers, Rotary's tournament organiser. "We were initially worried that recent events in the kingdom might have put a dampener on the occasion and in raising sponsorships. But, in the end, it was a great day out for the players and their supporters and we raised an amazing amount thanks to our sponsors."
Almost BD700 was raised on the day by the sale of raffle tickets (first prize: a return air ticket to Europe) and the Penalty Shoot Out.
This was the club's 15th annual tournament. The funds raised will go towards the purchase of a mobile unit to serve as a counselling ward for children suffering from diabetes. This is being achieved in co-operation with the Bahrain Diabetes Society and Al Kindi Hospital.
The mobile unit will visit schools and community centres throughout Bahrain to help educate children and their families on the treatment of the disease and, perhaps more importantly, how to prevent the onset of diabetes in children.
The year's sponsors included BNH, Alba, GPIC, Arab Banking Corporation, BNP Paribas, the Oasis Centre, Chevron, International Agencies Co Ltd, Al Zayani Investments, BMMI, Qays H. Zu'bi, Al Noor School, Sweet 'N Low, ACEC, RCSI, Bapco, BIBF, BNH, Budget car rental, University College of Bahrain and Noonoo Exchange.
The Rotary Club of Manama, with a current membership of 66 men and women from all segments of Bahraini society, was founded in 1965 with the purpose of raising funds and supporting community projects in the kingdom and abroad. The Child Protection Centre, the Deaf & Mute Society and Al Rahma Centre are other recent beneficiaries.
With the motto 'Service Above Self', the Manama Rotary Club is a part of a world-wide service club organisation with over a million members.
