MUSCAT: This weekend saw the fourth round of the JPL GCC Cup series take place here in Bausher, Muscat.
Ten teams from across the GCC came to the Sultanate of Oman this weekend to see who could be crowned the under-14 champions.
The ESG Football Academy team who were the youngest team in the tournament with the boys being under-13 and under-12 managed to pull of the unthinkable winning the crown.
They secured the win by beating Juventus Academy Oman in a nail-biting penalty shoot-out in the final.
ESG goalkeeper Hamad al Busaidy, who also won the individual award as the tournament's best goalkeeper, was the hero saving two penalties which secured the Cup for ESG.
ESG Football Academy coach Haitham said: “I am so happy for these boys. It’s been a very tough weekend for them, but they have huge self-belief both individually and as a team and worked extremely hard for each other."
"We were always going to be up against it being the smallest and youngest team in the tournament, but the boys showed that football is not just about physicality but also having the right mentality as well as the technical ability which is even more important."
"Overall, it’s been another tournament where we’ve seen so many talented players perform from across the Sultanate of Oman and it was fitting that it was two teams from Oman that played out the final. We are now looking forward to the fifth round taking place in Saudi Arabia in January 2024," he added.
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