Unique football experience for Lion City Sailors U12s
The Lion City Sailors U13’s traveled to Rotterdam to visit the Feyenoord Academy from the 28th of May till the 13th of June. The youngsters of Feyenoord’s Singaporean partner club came over for a training camp and to experience European football during friendly matches. Besides their footballing activities, the team and their staff had some additional cultural experiences in the country.
The Sailors traveled to Rotterdam with 20 players and 6 staff members accompanying the team through the whole trip. For this team, it was their first ever training camp in Europe. The training sessions were led by Sailors U13’s coach Mustafa Al-Saffar.
The main purpose of the trip was for players to experience and confront players from Europe at diverse stages of levels. Playing friendly matches against Dutch sides Excelsior, BVV Barendrecht, HBSS, Willem II and the Feyenoord Academy really tested the Singaporean players. Although some of the Dutch opponents were a bit further in their physical development, the Sailors put a 100% effort into every game, showing their fighting spirit and their passion and love for football.
‘Our boys got to experience a taste of professional football with daily training, analysis and what it’s like to play against European opposition’, said Mustafa Al-Saffar, U13’s Coach at Lion City Sailors. ‘They got to see boys of their age play quicker and faster and much more hungry to win – something they rarely see back home due to the lack of a highly competitive football culture.’
Our team will take this experience back to Singapore and take their game to the next level. Mustafa Al-Saffar, Lion City Sailors U13's Coach
‘In terms of football, it’s great that we got to play a mixture of games – culminating with the Feyenoord U12’s at the very last game’, added Al-Saffar. ‘Overall the two weeks were excellent for our boys. For almost everyone this was their first time travelling away from home/family and so they were no doubt nervous about what to expect. Again, a huge thanks to the Feyenoord staff for making this happen and we look forward to the next trips!’
