Their world cup runneth over
- Source: Global Times
- [11:22 June 18 2010]
- Comments
By Chris Chagnon
Eye on the ball: Malone's Shanghai shooters (in white) and Beaver United battle for posession. Photos: Chris Chagnon
As the final whistle blew at the Shanghai International Football League (SIFL) End of Season tournament, drum beats and screams erupted from players and fans of Azzurri FC streaming onto the pitch at the Tianma Country Club to congratulate their team on the victory over the Oranje FC. Beaming with pride and surrounded by boisterously singing fans, John Maria Del Fino, the manager of Azzurri, didn't mince words talking about what the team meant to him and the players. "It's our family. You need to have something that makes you feel at home and for me it's Azzurri."
Del Fino's sentiments reflect those of most of the players, managers, and coaches of the SIFL, which has been a local magnet for people from around the world to come together, socialize, and celebrate their love of the beautiful game for almost 15 years.
From a handful to hundreds
The roots of the SIFL go back to 1994 when five friends, Bokke Veltkamp, Tom Bus, Jan Berges, Brian McCloskey, and Ian Jameson, decided to organize monthly nine-a-side, half-field tournaments with six teams. The word of the tournaments quickly spread and there was enough interest to begin an eight-team, nine-a-side, half-field league in 1995. Within five years, there were enough interested people to switch to eleven-a-side, full-field football. As more people began to play, the league trans-formed into a robust community bound together by the love of this sport.
Today, there are 18 teams, each with anywhere from 20 to 60 players, broken into two divisions and with literally hundreds of people from both the expat and local Chinese communities involved.
"No one comes to Shanghai just to play football but lots of expats love it. So, when we set it up, we wanted expats to have an amateur league, run by amateurs, contributing to charity and doing things for society in China. We just wanted to be able to play every Saturday," said Tom Bus, one of the founders and the holder of the league record for games played (320).
SIFL President Daniel Berger of Germany, pointed out the charitable aspect of the league. "We have a lot of families that come to our games, so we like to keep the play clean, friendly, and disciplined. Also, we'd like to be able to do something to give back to China and the community. So, we have a system where every red or yellow card is a 50 yuan ($7.30) fine that the club or player must pay. At the end of the season, we take all that money and vote on a charity to donate it to. For the past several years we have donated to Project Integration, which provides funds for migrant workers' children to attend school, including their books and meal costs."
