photo from sg.sports.yahoo.com
Singapore overcame opponent such as Korea Republic, Jordon & UAE, to finish third at the AFC DREAM ASIA Cerebral Palsy tournament last month in Abu Dhabi. So what made this humble achievement worth writing? Gentlemen, we are talking about a group of Cerebral Palsy players who wanted to show Singapore or perhaps, the whole world, despite their disabilities, they can also live a FUTBOL DREAM.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) acknowledges the fact that all persons irrespective of any physical, sensory or mental impairments should be given the right to participate and play football. Other than the effort put in by the players, credit also has to given to their head coach, coach Mohamed Zainudeen.
Coach Mohamed Zainudeen, popularly known as Coach Zai, took up the coaching of the team 3 years ago after an invitation from the Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC). He trained them weekly for the past 3 years prior to this tournament. According to the humble Coach Zai, he was inspired by the boys everytime they trained and he was taking this opportunity (coaching the team) as a responsibility to return to the society – using futbol.
Coach Zai was not the only one showing his appreciation for what AFC had been doing for the Celebral Palsy players, The Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA) has also said that the tournament recently organised by the AFC was not only an important development opportunity for the countries but also a significant step for all those involved in cerebral palsy football worldwide.
Regardless of the kind of support which you could extend, put the most basic funding issue aside, awareness is the key. Let’s do our best to raise the awareness among our peers. Give the Cerebral Palsy players a chance to play the beautiful which none of us should deprive each other from enjoying. I saw the photos taken during their training at Coach Zai’s facebook – they were enjoying their futbol… with their hearts.
13 thoughts on “Unique Futbol Dream”