Melbourne Victory was proud to once again support the annual Australian Somali Football Association ‘United Through Football’ Tournament.
Staged between December 21-29 and bringing together diverse African-Australian youth, it is the largest event of its type delivered by the African community in Victoria.
The annual ASFA tournament has a great track record for showcasing future stars, with Melbourne Victory players Thomas Deng (2012) and Elvis Kamsoba (2017) participating in previous events.
The ASFA tournament continues to provide a platform for young, talented footballers to develop their skills and achieve their sporting goals.
The most recent instalment of the event brought together 12 senior and six junior teams, who competed to be crowned ASFA champions for 2018.
Following an evenly contested group stage and first round of knockout matches the semi-finals saw Sporting Carlton defeat defending champions Kensington City, while Sunshine United proved too strong on the day for New Zealand.
Come Grand Final day, Sunshine United started the better and raced to a 2-0 first-half lead, only for Sporting Carlton to find their rhythm and tie the scores before half-time.
In keeping with the cultural and celebratory theme, a pair of African musicians entertained the crowd during the interval, before Sporting Carlton capped a remarkable comeback by scoring the match-winning goal near to full time.
In the day’s curtain-raising youth Grand Final, Fitzroy Lions defeated Kensington City 4-2.
Melbourne Victory congratulates the participating players and teams, as well as the Australian Somali Football Association for an outstanding tournament.
