The world shrinks for this cup

• Source: Global Times
• [17:10 June 30 2010]
• Comments

Despite this setback, everyone present seemed happy with the event and the football. "There's no disappointment. It's a wonderful event that allows teams and people from different nations to come together. Seven-a-side, no offside, no linesmen, it's very relaxing and played in a good spirit," said Kevin Dougherty, a Football Association-certified referee from Ireland who officiated for some of the games. This was echoed by Danielle Uidam, a sports coach from Australia who was playing in the Brazil team. "I'm not disappointed, it's all great fun. We're all here to play football, we're having a good time, and the weather is not too hot. Not much more you can really ask for. Freek and everyone do a great job organizing things every week and all of the different tournaments."

Talking about her experiences as one of the few women playing in the league, Uidam said: "At first, many guys were a bit hesitant to go full speed with me but they got used to me pretty quickly and now they treat me like any other player. They go full on, and sometimes things can get heated." (She was struck by a vicious elbow blow to the head in a match against the South Korean team.)

Boelen said that the league plans to hold its third Mini-World Cup in four years, though probably with more fanfare. In the interim, it will continue their seasonal tournaments, like the mid- December, Christmas-themed "Santa Cup". "We're planning on expanding to 10 teams next season, so the tournaments will get a bit bigger. We want to cap the league at 10 teams though. This allows us to be a bit more selective about the teams we include and means that we can continue to share a single pitch on the weekends," Boelen said.