The victorious KEA celebrates at the end of the tournament.

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 10: The College of Engineering Trivandrum Alumni Association Kuwait chapter organized its flagship event, the Kids Football tournament, with gusto on 6th December at Classico Football grounds, Ahmadi. CETAA takes immense pride in hosting this tournament every year, which has gained popularity amongst the children of the Kuwait Engineers Forum. CETAA has partnered with Friends of CRY Club (FOCC), one of the most trusted NGOs committed to empowering children by protecting their fundamental rights. The tournament fosters camaraderie and celebrates the spirit of sportsmanship by hosting a friendly football tournament for kids.

Invitees who attended the event were CRY Representative Mr. Muralee Kutticode, (FOCC) Kuwait, and representatives from sponsors of the event from Nouri – Mr. Shyam Mohan, Arabian Corrosion - Mr. Krishnan Natarajan, Mark Technology – Mr. Suresh Pillai, Athma – Mr. Hasaynar Pareed.

The event was attended by a robust KEF Team comprised of KEF General Convener – Ms. Hanan Shan, KEF GC Designate – Mr. Ganga Prasad T, KEF Ex Officio – Mr. Santosh Abraham, CETAA President – Ms. Sherly Sasi Rajan. Presidents and Chairpersons from the various Alumni: AECK – Mr. Deepak Geo Thomas, KEA – Mr. Eby Samuel, NSSCEAA – Mr. Joe Joseph Arakkal, MACEAA –Mr. Vinil K.V, TECAA –Ms. Manju Sreenath, TKMCEAA –Mr. Manoj C. G.

Seven teams from the various alumni played the league stage matches. The matches were action-packed and replete with stellar performances. Players of the league matches were as follows. TKM Vs TEC: Athul Sandeep (TEC), AECK Vs MACE: Nidhin A Jojan (MACE), CETAA Vs NSS: Johaan Smijoe (CETAA), TKM Vs AECK: Joe Joshua Lijo (TKM), TEC Vs MACE: Nidhin A Jojan (MACE), KEA Vs CETAA: Ryan Tibish (KEA), TKM Vs MACE: Nidhin A Jojan (MACE), TEC Vs AECK: Athul Sandeep (TEC), NSS Vs KEA: Nihal Kamal (KEA).

The teams that topped the standings in the initial league phase (KEA and MACE) played in the finals. The high-octane performance of the two teams made it a perfect final for the spectators to watch as it ended in a draw 2-2 after normal time. The nail-biting match went into extra time. MACE drew first blood but an unnerved KEA kept their cool and scored 2 goals in quick succession to clinch the trophy. Nihal Kamal (KEA) was adjudged the Player of the Match (Final). Nidhin A Jojan (MACE), however, bagged the Player of the Tournament for his outstanding performance in all his matches.

The following were adjudged as promising players: Navneeth Arun, Joe Joshua Lijo, Job Delin, Stephen Mario Santhosh, Faizan Javed, and David Emmanuel. Nihal Francis was adjudged the most promising player and Jordan Varghese Binny was adjudged the best goalkeeper.

The KEF Children’s Club, under the leadership of Angela Sunil, President, and Sridevi Raroth, Secretary took the initiative to organize a Food Stall at the event. The stall was a tremendous success, earning praise from the community. To further enhance the event’s energy, the children also arranged interactive games.