Phuket hosts ESPN Charity football clini
The ESPN STAR Sports broadcast team concluded its hectic weekend in Phuket with a footballing day at the British International School (BIS) on Sunday March 29.
The day got underway with a coaching session for the benefit of children from BIS, the Youth Football Home and the Thailand Special Olympics team. Former Liverpool and England midfielder Steve McMahon was one of a number of presenters who supervised a training session, sharing some of the knowledge he had accumulated in a glorious career.
McMahon won the English first division (now the Premier League) three times with Liverpool and the FA Cup twice and was also a member of the England squad who reached the semi finals of the world cup in 1990.
After the coaching clinic, the ESPN side took on a couple of local teams. Some of the ESPN team looked visibly the worse for wear and conceded two goals in quick succession to the Phuket Reporters Club, Watcharin Kaendiew netting a brace. ESPN rallied in the second half and former Birmingham City player Paul Masefield pulled a goal back before PJ Roberts grabbed a deserved equalizer.
The second match saw ESPN take on a BIS side featuring a mixture of parents, teachers and children. ESPN took an early lead with an expert finish from Andy Tait but BIS promptly pulled a goal back. The best, however, was yet to come as Paul Masefield scored with an audacious flick to give ESPN a 2-1 lead that they held until mid-way through the second half when the game had to be abandoned due to lightning.
Steve McMahon, who made a couple of cameo appearances for the ESPN side, said afterwards, “It’s been great and we’ve raised some money for charity which is the main thing. I always like coming to Phuket, its beautiful here.” A total of 400,000 baht was raised over the course of the weekend, which will go towards helping the Thailand Special Olympics team.
By James Goyder
