Tan Yifan

    cicitan2011@gmail.com

    ABOUT 100 expat soccer players raised their wine glasses at an awards ceremony Wednesday night at LIGHT nightclub in Futian District, cheering the end of an exciting inaugural season of the Shenzhen International Amateur Football League (SIAFL).

    InterShenzhen FC, founded in 2001 and the city’s oldest expat soccer club, won the league’s first title, with 16 players amassing 104 goals and 34 points over the season.

    The runner-up was Lunatics FC, a Shekou-based soccer club with 16 members, which scored 56 goals and finished just one point behind InterShenzhen.

    World United FC, which was founded in 2006 and fielded 15 players, took third place with 49 goals and 26 points.

    “This season saw tense competition, especially among InterShenzhen, Lunatics and the Tigers (SZ Tigers FC),” Aleksandr Chemomor, vice president of the SIAFL and goalkeeper for World United FC, said at the ceremony. “We didn’t know who the runner-up was until the last contest.”

    With representatives from each team on hand, Chemomor and SIAFL secretary Liu Chang handed the cup and medals to the winners and also presented the Fair Play award to SWIS FC, a team of 16 international school teachers.

    Romanian player Razvan Croitoru was the league’s top scorer, as he racked up 27 goals for InterShenzhen.

    “We enjoyed this season’s games a lot,” said Dennis Puperhart, a Dutchman who has lived in Shenzhen for 18 months and played midfield for InterShenzhen. “As InterShenzhen enjoys a long history and has many skillful players, we knew we had a chance to win. But still, it was not easy to smash the other teams.”

    Puperhart said the league’s successful development benefits the city.

    “I think it is a good thing for Shenzhen to have its first expats soccer league, as the game has become more popular in China, especially following the recent victories of Guangzhou Evergrande FC,” he said.

    Kelly Johanna Diaz Camcergo, one of the league’s two females and a striker for Colombian Dream FC, said the season was a great experience.

    “The league is so well-organized and we had wonderful games this season,” she said. “I enjoyed the game partly because of the respect from both my teammates and the counterparts. We are a big family and when I was on the field, I just fought as a man.”

    The season kicked off Sep. 2 on the fields across Hongli Road from Linhua Hill Park in Futian District, where games were played every Monday night. Eight teams totaling more than 100 expat players joined the eight-a-side league. The next season will start in March 2014 and might see more players on the field.

    “Shenzhen deserves a professional amateur soccer league,” said Kim Lee, a manager of Lunatics FC and self-proclaimed consultant for the league. “We hope to send more teams representing Shenzhen to compete with teams overseas. And if possible, we’ll encourage Chinese players to join the big competition.”