KUALA LUMPUR (9 AUGUST 2019): It was just like the good old days for participants and supporters of the 19th edition of the RSC International Soccer 7’s as they rolled back the years to meet or to battle it out over the sunny weekend of 3rd & 4th August 2019.
Hosted by the Royal Selangor Club (RSC) at its sports annexe in Bukit Kiara, this international tournament has been organised successfully since 2001 and has seen the participation of teams from Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Korea, Maldives, Netherlands, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Notable names that was seen at the tournament were Datuk Soh Chin Aun, Datuk Santokh Singh, Datuk N. Thanabalan, Datuk Shukor Salleh, Datuk Mohamad Bakar, Rahim Abdullah, Vincent Thanbyrajah, K. Gunalan, Shahrin Majid, Ristomoyo Kassim, Thomas Samuel Manuel George and many past state players.
For this edition of the tournament, 12 teams signed up for the Masters category (above 40’s) and 14 vied for the Grand Masters (above 50s) crown.
Penang Sports Club edged ADE H&A through penalties (3-1) following a 2-2 draw in the Final to claim the Masters Cup while Indonesia based Aster Jakarta nicked a 1-0 win over Kasikorn Bank from Thailand for the Plate.
In the Grand Masters category, IRC Negeri Sembilan led by former national players K. Gunalan and Shahrin Majid beat TM Jones 3-2 on penalties after a goalless affair in regulation time. Shahrin was also named the category’s top goal scorer.
Meanwhile, hosts RSC managed to pip the Grand Masters Plate title with a 2-1 win against Kasikorn Bank to give the home crowd some cheer.
President of Royal Selangor Club, Sylvester Devaraj Anthony said after the prize giving ceremony, “What a memorable edition this was; as we witnessed true passion for the sport no matter the age. It was friendly competition on the field and great fellowship off the field. And at the end, we can safely say that the tournament’s primary objective of fostering fellowship through football was successfully achieved as family, friends and supporters came together as one to participate throughout these two days.”
