Jeddah Sports Club honors IISJ soccer team

Jeddah Sports Club made a rare gesture as part of its Indian Republic Day celebration by honoring the soccer team of International Indian School Jeddah (IISJ). As Principal Syed Masood Ahmed of IISJ pointed out in his acceptance speech, it was the first time the team which had made a terrific display in the All India CBSE Schools Football Championship in India recently, is honored by an Indian expatriates organization. In the CBSE tournament the IISJ team made a mark by reaching the last eight among 37 teams from all over India and overseas including the much-acclaimed Tata Academy. As part of the honor Jeddah Sports Club team played a friendly match with IISJ team. IISJ team wasted no time to prove its strength scoring five goals in the first half with clean passing and quick moves. The second half saw JSC XI fight hard to keep IISJ at bay with never-say-die defending by Nadeem and Nabeel. With the timely substitutions made by their spirited coach P.R. Saleem JSC returned two goals including a well taken penalty by Captain Nabeel. The experienced IISJ could add only one more goal, ending the match 6-2. Chief guest IISJ Principal Ahmed, H.M X-XII classes Naufal and sports editor Paulson graced the occasion along with parents, well wishers and JSC trainees. The two teams were introduced to the main guests by JSC Chairman Abdul Rafeeq Kannur. After the photo session, everyone stood in silence in honor of the national anthem of India, truly a moment of pride for all native Indians at the ground. The honoring ceremony began with recitation of verses from the holy Qur’an by trainee Adil Ashraf. JSC Chairman welcomed and thanked the guests and the IISJ team for accepting the invitation and praised the team for its achievements. Chief guest Ahmed, Naufal and Paulson praised JSC for its efforts in organizing this one off event, never seen before in KSA as claimed by Paulson, which led to a loud cheer of approval from all at the ground. JSC honored each member of IISJ soccer team with a certificate and a prize. It also presented a memento to the school which was graciously received by the principal along-with their the team captain and coach cum manager Abdul Rasheed Alikkal. From Arabnews