Christmas Football Tournament
Editor’s Note: Get a glimpse into the Christmas fun happening at Liberia Mission! Joey Neuhauser shares a detailed sports report of Liberia Mission’s inaugural Christmas Football Tournament.
This year, Liberia Mission began its first annual football (soccer) tournament. It was an exciting event, and three of our staff members attempted to lead their teams to glory and a small monetary prize of 20 US dollars.
For context, my reader should know how this all came about. One day, Handful, Kainly, Ezekiel, and I were sitting in Flomo’s office, and we decided that the best way to add some excitement into the Christmas day festivities might be to have a bit of sporting fun. And so, a tournament was decided upon. Using my years of fantasy (American) football experience, we held the draft on the spot, and I utilized the snake format for maximum fairness. Here were the results:
The Teams
Lions FC: Handful, Junior, Ebuka, Keselee
SBG: Ezekiel, James K., Peterlyn, Varney
PSG: Kainly, Rahim, Garbiel, Marshaline
The Tournament Format and Rules
Each team will play each other once.
Wins are 3 points, losses are 0, and ties are 1.
The top two teams after the round-robin will play for the prize money.
Each game in the group stage will be 15 minutes long.
The championship game will be 20 minutes, with 2 ten-minute halves.
If the championship is tied after regulation, we shall have a 5-minute OT, and then penalties if necessary.
Lastly, and most importantly, the coaches are not allowed to score.
The first 3 games all ended with different winners. However, it was Handful and Lions FC that went down due to goal differential. This leads us to the main event - the championship.
The game begins, and it looks to be a rout. Varney and James K. score, giving SBG a staggering 2-0 lead near the end of the half. However, Rahim has something to say about it, and he makes it 2-1 just before the closing of the half. Tension remains high, and as the teams switch sides of the field, so too does the momentum.
The second half begins with another SBG score, and that’s soon to be followed by a second in the last 2 minutes. All seems lost as mustering the energy to tie after an hour of football (soccer) is nearly impossible. However, the resolve of SBG is found unwaning, and the stalwart team finds a way to score in the last seconds of the half, sending us to overtime. Neither side can make the breakthrough they need. Thus, penalties ensue.
The penalties are a 4-yard stare down between keeper and attacker, and each kick holds a weight of expectation. The sides are in a deadlock. Ezekiel stares at young Gabriel as the ground quakes beneath his rushing feet. Ezekiel feigns left, jumps right … he’s too late as the ball hits home in the back corner.
Subsequently, Kainly and the PSG crew hoist their prize money as one and confidently proclaim themselves as the true champions of this holiday season!
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