A message I wrote for the Royal Sungei Ujong Club in June, 2013 :
Message from President of Royal
Sungei Ujong Club
Let me start by
quoting Gary Lineker after losing the 1990 World Cup semifinal to Germany on
penalties: “Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and
at the end, the Germans win.”
Greetings from the Royal Sungei Ujong Club, Seremban !
It is indeed a privilege and honour for me to write
this message, being the first message as the newly minted President of the
Royal Sungei Ujong Club. At the very outset, let me tell you that I am no
ordinary girl next door who knows nothing about football. I have to credit my
late father, Mr Tang Seng Huang for introducing me to football and as a result
I got hooked. I remember both of us sitting with our eyes glued in front of the
television discussing excitedly about a “Road to Wembley” game, much to my
sisters and mother’s chagrin. We were guilty of hogging the television. His favourite team was
Tottentham Hotspurs (“Spurs”) and mine was Manchester City (“City”).
My favourite game of all time was the FA Cup Final
Replay between Spurs and City in 1981.
It was the first to be staged at Wembley. Ricky Villa opened the
scoring for Spurs in the 8th minute. Steve MacKenzie equalised
for City in the 11th minute. Kevin Reeves scored a
penalty in the 50th minute to give City the lead. Garth Crooks then
equalised in the 70th minute. In the 76th minute, Tony Galvin passed the
ball to Villa 30 yards from City's goal, and the Argentinian dribbled past four
defenders before scoring the winning goal. This goal was voted Wembley Goal of
the Century in 2001, and it won Tottenham the match, 3–2, and the FA Cup for
the 6th time.
It is also indeed a great honour and privilege too for
the Royal Sungei Ujong Club to organise the RSUC – TIGER FOOTBALL 7’s CHALLENGE
TROPHY 2013 this year. Continuing from the success of the three (3) previous
tournaments, we have grown from strength to strength. The inaugural one was in
2010. It is indeed encouraging to see that we are making progress in cultivating
an enthusiastic sporting culture as the tournament teams have grown from 4 in
2010 to 12 in 2011 to 16 this year !
All this cannot be achieved without the dedication,
commitment and enthusiasm of the organising committee, namely Mr. Low Her Huat
(the new football captain), Tony Chia (the previous football captain and the
current House and Grounds and Security Chairman), Mr. Steven Loo (our previous
Sports Chairman), Mr Ramesh, Mr.
Saravanan Sannasi (our current Sports Chairman) and Encik Azam Bin Daud who
have spent invaluable time, energy and resources to promote football and
friendship (camaraderieship) with other football clubs. This is what clubbing
is all about. The main objective of this tournament is to foster greater
fellowship at a competitive level among many football players and officials
from many clubs, both local and overseas, that will soon converge on the NS
Padang culminating in a gala dinner at our very own Tuanku Jaafar Hall. Our
theme in 2011 of “FRIENDSHIP FOREVER…IT IS ALL THAT MATTERS” rings true !
Special mention to our guest of honour and a member of
the Club, Dato Alexander Soosay, Secretary of the Asian Football Federation
(AFC) who has time and time again supported the football section in so many
ways.
This year the tournament will be held on 7-10 June,
2013 at the NS Padang. Let me make this an opportunity to quote Martin Luther
King. I have a dream that one day in the near future we will be able to hold
the tournament in our very own football field. When can we make it happen ? All
I can say now is : if there’s a will,
there’s a way. Watch this space.
I understand that this 7’s soccer tournament is
probably one of the most prestigious in this part of the world, worthy credit
must be given to the RSUC’s soccer
section for organising this tournament so well and efficiently. It is my
fervent hope that the football section can take up the challenge to ensure that
this tournament continues to be prestigious and popular.
Therefore, as the President of the Club and on behalf
of all the members of the Club, I must extend our heartiest compliments and
gratitude to the organisers of this tournament for a job well done. It is a
tough job to organise such an extensive tournament like this. A lot of
preparatory and assiduous work have gone into the tournament. I am sure that this
tournament will be another runaway success.
On behalf of the Club, let me bid all our visitors
(participants and officials) to the RSUC a very warm welcome. We also like to
welcome and appreciate our friends from overseas and we are truly appreciative
of the efforts you have taken to come all the way to participate in this event.
I wish all of you the best of luck. As the saying goes
: “May the best teams win”. It is my fervent hope that the spirit of clubbing
i.e, fellowship and good fun shall prevail rather than just the spirit of
winning.
Last but not least, I would like to thank our major
sponsor, Guinness Anchor Bhd for their generous support to the soccer 7s
tournament. We are very grateful and thankful of your relentless support.
Let me end by quoting Bill Shankly, Liverpool manager on
football: “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I’m very
disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more
important than that.”
Have a fantabulous weekend !!
Nicole Tan Lee Koon
President
Royal Sungei Ujong Club 2013/2014
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