Northern NSW Football have secured two third place finishes at the 2024 Singapore Cup.
The Singa Cup, one of Asia’s premier international youth football tournaments, saw NNSWF enter under-14s girls and under-14s boys teams.
NNSWF recorded brave performances against premier international teams throughout the two tournaments, with each NNSWF team making it out of their respective groups to progress through the group stages into the play-offs, semi-finals and third-place play-off matches.
The under-14s boys topped their group against Quinns from Australia, G8 Academy from the Philippines, Geylang International FC and St. George’s College from India. They progressed into the semi-finals where they went down to Pro Football Lab from Australia 1(2)-1(1).
NNSWF were pushed to penalties again against South Coast Baptist College in the third-place play-off when the score was locked at 1-1 at full-time after a goal from NNSWF’s Charlie Gibson. Rune Fowler, Joel Barton and Jonathan Priestley all converted from the spot in the penalty shootout to secure third place for NNSWF.
The under-14s girls finished second in their group after playing University of Western Australia, Phranakorn FC from Thailand and Football South Australia Blue. They progressed through to the semi-finals where they went down 4-0 to HKFA Girls Team B from Hong Kong.
NNSWF’s girl's side also secured third place after they defeated Football South Australia Red 0(4)-0(3) on penalties. Tahlia Nicholson, Liliana Pinner, Cassie Niszczot and Emma Dowdle all netted their penalty kicks to cement the bronze medal for NNSWF.
NNSWF Technical Director Ryan Doidge said he was proud of the efforts displayed throughout the tournaments.
“The Singa Cup was an excellent opportunity for players to test themselves against different types of quality players. This tournament helped our players to develop and learn new skills that they can bring home,” Doidge said.
“All players represented themselves and the region proudly. It was fantastic to see each member zone represented on this tour and to showcase the region’s talent on the international stage.
“Congratulations to the players on their achievements while they were away. The strengths of these groups demonstrate the level of talent that we have in northern NSW.
“I look forward to watching these squads along with all the other identified players in northern NSW to continue along the player pathway.”
