On the 2nd December, 2023, the University of Plymouth Tamil Society Football team took part in the Midlands Cup, Inter-tamil society football tournament at Club Des Sports in London, where different Tamil university societies from around the UK compete against one another.
Team members Kishan (C), Lassan, Hossein, Kavin, Visnu, Jeron, Galin, Josh and Ajay shared with us an overview of their trip to London and the tournament itself....
This was the first time Plymouth have entered into an inter-tamil sports competition. We were delighted to represent our university and put Plymouth on the map!
"Even during the run up to the tournament day, various other Tamil societies who were more well established, and entered several other competitions were unaware Plymouth even had a Tamil society, let alone travel all the way to London to compete.
Two days before the tournament day, there was a live draw to decide the groups, and unfortunately, we were put into the "group of death", along with 4 other universities (Keele, QM, City A & Surrey A), who were all strong contenders to win this year. What better way to make your debut appearance at a Tamil Society football tournament!
Going into the tournament, were were seen as the weakest team out of all the universities who had entered due to our relatively small Tamil soctiey and being the only team to not enter a tournament before, and although we unfortunately failed to make it out of the "group of death", we showed great strength and courage in all games, and left the tournament exceeding everyone's expectations of us.
We fought hard to get a draw against City University of London A-team, who went on to reach the quarter finals and also had a close game which we lost narrowly 2-0 (with some very questionable decisions by the referee) to Queen Mary's University and Barts - who actually went on to win the whole tournament!!
All in all, we achieved our main goal of having a fun trip to London and also increasing publicity for Plymouth Tamil Society, as well as going into future football tournaments being seen as more of a threat.
There are talks of some Tamil University football tournaments being scheduled in 2023, and with a bit more training, we can build on our mistakes and reach further in future tournaments!"
Get in touch with the Plymouth Tamil Society:
Email: plymouthtamilsociety@gmail.com
Find out more about the team and purchase memberships here.
Get in touch and follow them on Instagram (@plymouthtamilsociety):
