Birkbeck football team triumphs at league final
The Birkbeck men’s student football team has triumphed in a league final game against a team from Royal Holloway University.
The Birkbeck men’s student football team has triumphed in a league final game against a team from Royal Holloway University.
The team, playing in the London Universities Sports League (LUSL) for university football, were victorious with a 1-0 win, with a goal scored in the last quarter of the game by winger Anfernee Wright, redeeming a red card against the Birkbeck team, reducing it to ten players after the first 20 minutes of the game.
“The match was extremely energetic and we left some of our best players on the bench to bring them on tactically as the game progressed into the second half,” said Jasdeep Thandi, who is joint team captain and studying a Master’s degree in Sports Marketing and Management at the College.
“We changed our tactics in the second half, too, playing in a flexible formation so we could take full advantage as soon as we took possession of the ball – which paid off when we scored to put us ahead of Royal Holloway.”
Following the victory in the cup final, the team will now go up a division in the league it plays in, from division 7 to division 6 in the LUSL Saturday league and from division 3 to division 2 in the Wednesday league.
“We have a really international team at Birkbeck,” said Jasdeep, speaking after the match had taken place. “Our players come from across Europe, North Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Some of our guys are extremely talented and could be playing semi-professionally in the UK, so we have the potential to go much, much further up the divisions next season.”
The team has received coaching this season from a coach attached to Brentford FC, who was previously played at a high level in Portugal.
Students interested in playing in the team, or in being kept up-to-date with match fixtures can contact Jasdeep Thandi, the co-captain, here.
Further information
- Birkbeck Men’s football team
- Information on the MSc Sports Management and Marketing
- Sports Business Centre
- LUSL