The 3rd YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL Thailand 2011. Host Country Thailand's Teams Finish 1st and 3rd Amid Home Crowd Cheers

Thailand's A Team wins the championship spurred on by home supporters

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and Thai Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (TYM), with cooperation from the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Football Association of Thailand, organized the 3rd YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL Thailand 2011 over the three days of July 15 to 17 at the Yamaha Stadium in the suburbs of Bangkok (home stadium of Muang Thong United Football Club for which TYM is main sponsor). Over the three days of the tournament some 3,000 spectators gathered to watch the games (2,000 for the July 17 final) and cheer the home Team Thailand-A to a come-from-behind victory in the final championship match.

The tournament was competed by six under-13 teams, including two from the host country of Thailand and one each from Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and, for the first time, India. The six teams were divided into two groups by lottery to compete in a round robin, from which the teams finishing 1st and 2nd in each group qualified to compete in the final tournament. The two teams that went on to compete in the championship final were the home Thailand-A Team and last year's winning team from Indonesia. Cheered on with calls of "Thailand, Thailand" from the home crowd in the grandstand, the Thai team dominated ball possession in the early stages of the match but failed to break through the Indonesian defense to score. It was Indonesia that scored first on a free kick from directly in front of the goal. The first half ended that way with Indonesia leading by one point. The game changed seven minutes into the second half when an Indonesian player received a red card. Then in the 25th minute another penalty gave the Thai team a penalty kick that was successfully converted to even the score. Just three minutes after that the Thai team scored another point to take the lead with just five minutes remaining to play in the game. The game ended with the score remaining at 1-2 to make the Team Thailand-A the champions of the 3rd YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL tournament.
Just before that final match the Thailand-B Team had battled with the Vietnam Team for 3rd place. This was another game where the Thai team came from behind dramatically in the last five minutes to win by a score of 3-1. This gave the two home teams 1st and 3rd place finishes to the delighted cheers of the home crowd.

Another purpose of this tournament is to give children who share the same love of football the opportunity to deepen the international fellowship of their sport. On the day after the final matches, all the players from the five countries went together on a trip to Bangkok's Crocodile Farm on July 18th. On this trip, the same players who had competed so intensely until the day before showed their lighter 13-year-old side with unrestrained smiles and shoulders embraced in a congenial atmosphere.

The YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL tournament is organized with the aim of becoming a symbol of the Yamaha Motor group's sport promotion in the ASEAN region that football-playing youth in the region will long to compete in and will contribute to the spread of the sport and elevating the competitiveness of the players and teams. Plans call for the fourth tournament to be held in Malaysia in 2012.

Winners comment - Team Thailand-A, Head Coach Neti Soonyakri

"In addition to our daily practice, we enlist the help of a team doctor and fitness coach to give the players a comprehensive program that includes advice about keeping healthy and mental training to teach the players winning football. That is why we are especially happy to have won this tournament in front of our home spectators. One of the things that we feel contributed to the victory this time was the players' diet. In tough conditions like this tournament where they have to play two games in one day, giving the players a healthy, well-balanced diet to help them recover their strength quickly. In the final, the other team scored first. But we were able to recover and win in the second half by changing to a more offensive lineup, and also because we received a lot of support from the spectators. There are few programs that support sports for young people like these under-13 players. That makes this tournament a great effort on Yamaha's part. I hope they will continue it for many years to come."

Winning team player comment - Team Thailand-A Captain, #9 Anan Surattanasin

"I am very happy that we were able to win. We owe it to the many people who came to cheer for us. They gave us extra strength. My parents and younger sister came to see me play. It made all the hard training we do every day worth the effort. I have played in a junior football tournament in Japan before as a member of our U-12 team, and I feel that I learn a lot playing against teams from other countries. It gives me more confidence too. My dream is to become a pro football player and play internationally someday. I want to use this experience and practice even harder to achieve that dream."

2nd place - Team Indonesia, Head Coach Rohmat Namung

"We were hoping to win our second straight title here after our win in this tournament last year, so we are a little disappointed with this result. The tournament itself was wonderful, with the opportunity to play in a Thai Premier League stadium and all, but I guess luck just wasn't with us this time. The second half of our tournament game against Vietnam had to be postponed until the morning of the final because of heavy rains and that wore down our players. Then we were unlucky again to get an unexpected red card in the final we got and had to play most of the game with one less players. All of our players played hard and it was a great game. Honestly speaking, I believe we had a better team than the eventual winners. I hope we can turn this experience into a springboard to come back next year and win the championship cup back."

3rd place - Thailand B Team, Head Coach Songserm Maperm

"It was a great tournament with a very high level of competition. Our team is a close-knit one with teamwork that can outmatch any other team. In that area we are No. 1. The strength of the bonds between our players is what helped us win 3rd place in this tournament, I believe. This tournament is a very rare opportunity to play against teams from other countries in a new environment. I hope that Yamaha will continue to hold this tournament every year. Since this is a Yamaha Motor sponsored event, it would also be nice if the winners could get a chance to go to Japan and tour stadiums there."

Comment by Eiji Tada, YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL Thailand 2011
Organizing Committee Director / General Manager of Asia Marketing & Sales Division, 1st Business Unit, Motorcycle Business Operations, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

"I would like to thank everyone for helping to make the 3rd YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 Football Thailand 2011 a great success in the tournament's first holding here in Thailand. We owe so much to the cooperation of the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the Football Association of Thailand and many people from each of the participating countries that helped run the event and work to promote sports. I also want to thank the players and teams for their cooperation and the sincere passion for football they showed throughout the tournament. Another special thanks goes to the people of the host country, Thailand, who organized the event so well and have shown such great hospitality. Furthermore, being able to play in the home stadium of Muang Thong United Football Club of Thailand's Premier League has certainly been a precious experience that the young players will long cherish. I also want to congratulate the Thai team for winning the tournament. I'm sure you all practiced hard to play this well and meet the expectations of the host country audience.
During last year's ACF tournament in Indonesia, I watched the competition from the standpoint of a representative of the host country and I was impressed this time to see how much the play of each country's teams have improved in this past year. It thrilled me to see the how exceptionally skilled these 13-year-old players are in their pass-work and I was moved to see how they chased balls rolling along the sidelines with determination to save them in-bounds to the last second. This is truly an event that embodies the Yamaha ideal of "Creating Kando," that special excitement and satisfaction that comes from experiencing something of great value. The ASEAN region is the most important market for Yamaha Motor and contains some of our largest manufacturing bases. We are determined to continue this tournament for many years to come as a means to share Kando with people through sports as Yamaha Motor has always done."

Comment by Jintana Udomsub,
Chief of Commerce, Thai Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., representing the host country

"We organized the YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL tournament this time with the aim of making it an even better event than the last two ACF events, and I am very glad that it has now been concluded successfully thanks to the cooperation of the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the Football Association of Thailand and everyone else involved. I want to take this opportunity to thank you all. We are happy and proud to have been able to welcome the teams and the people of the Yamaha family from India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam to Thailand this time as host country. I also want to thank the many members of the press who came to cover this event. Furthermore, I want to thank Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. for giving us the opportunity to organize this event as the host country.
We are pleased that a team from Thailand won the tournament, but we also believe that the biggest aim of this event is not about winning but about bringing together members of the ASEAN family under the banner of the Yamaha brand to support each other and share Kando. I am very happy to say that this event and the national qualifying events leading up to it have been a contribution to youth development, while at the same time being a successful means of brand communication, helping to implant the image of Yamaha as a sporty brand in the minds of young people of the region."

* Kando is a Japanese word for the simultaneous feeling of deep satisfaction and intense excitement that people experience when they encounter something of exceptional value.

150 members of the media attend opening press conference

Being the first holding of the YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL tournament in Thailand, a press conference was held on July 14th to introduce the press and media to the event and its aims. This conference was well attended by 130 members of the Thai media and more from the other participating ASEAN countries to bring the total to about 150.
Along with the press conference, the drawing was held to divide the teams into the two round-robin groups, resulting in a grouping of Team Thailand-A, Team India and Team Vietnam in Group A and Team Thailand-B, Team Malaysia and Team Indonesia in Group B. Competition began in these groups the next day (15th) to determine the four teams advancing to the final tournament.

Local middle school students also come to cheer

To encourage Thai youths of the same age as the ACF competitors to come see the games, invitations were sent out to middle schools in the vicinity of the Yamaha Stadium that served as the competition venue this time. As a result, many middle school students came to watch the matches on the first day of competition. On the day of the final, the organizers were glad to welcome a large number of Yamaha motorcycle owners from the "Yamaha Club" owners club. In all, some 3,000 spectators turned out to watch the competition over the three days of the tournament.

First participation for India

Despite a tough schedule that saw the team arriving on the morning of the first day of competition, the team from India participating in the ACF tournament for the first time made a valiant showing by scoring two goals against Team Vietnam, winners of the first ACF event.

Comment by Sanjeev Sharma, Strategy Planning Dept., India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd.

"Although it is widely known that cricket is traditionally the most popular sport in India, football has become increasingly popular among the younger generation. Compared to cricket, football is a fast-moving, stylish and powerful sport. I think those qualities fit perfectly with the Yamaha brand image. This time was our first participation, and I think our players learned a lot watching and playing against strong teams like the finalists from Thailand and Indonesia. It was surely a precious experience that goes beyond words. I think it became clear that our players need to train more and build physical strength and stamina. This time we didn't have much time to prepare, but starting now I want to see us spend the coming year preparing for the next ACF tournament so that we can hopefully bring the ACF Cup to India.

Yesterday's rivals are today's friends

Besides providing an opportunity for young players to pursue their dreams and improve their skills by playing hard against teams from other countries, ACF is also designed to be a tournament that helps build international friendships. That posture is seen in the Welcoming Party held on the evening of July 14th and the Farewell Party on the 17th. It is also the reason for the memorable trip all the participants took on the day after all competition ended that took them to Bangkok's Crocodile Farm on the 18th. Despite the language barriers, you could see groups of like-minded young people forming that transcended nationality as they enjoyed a happy time together building international friendships.

One match extended to next day due to heavy rain

The second match of the Group B round robin between the leader, Team Indonesia, and second place Team Vietnam started at 16:20 on July 16th (Sat.) under an ominous cloud cover. About ten minutes into the first half rain began to fall and quickly developed into a heavy squall. Despite the heavy rain, the play was continued until the end of the first half. The rain pelted down hard on the players, limiting the field of vision, making ball control difficult and causing the players to slip easily. Nonetheless, the Indonesian team managed to score two goals in the first 20 minutes of the first half. After that the rain let up somewhat, but the ground condition was so bad that the decision was made to play the second half the next day. That second half was held at 8:00 on the morning of the finals (17th) for just 30 minutes, during which Team Indonesia scored two more points and qualified for the final by a score of 4-0.
Due to the rain, the friendship match between the media and members of the Yamaha staff that was originally scheduled for the evening of the 16th had to be cancelled.

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. employees serve as volunteer referees

Shizuoka Prefecture where Yamaha Motor headquarters are located has long been a hotbed of football in Japan and a good number of the company's employees are involved regularly as instructors and referees in youth football programs. For the ACF tournament this time a total of six of these qualified Yamaha Motor employees volunteered to come to Thailand to serve as neutral third-country referees in hopes of helping the players concentrate on their games more fully by ensuring fairness in the judging. These six refereed all of the ten matches during the ACF tournament.

Comment by Mr. Surasak Thongsuwimon of the Football Association of Thailand

"Despite this being an amateur competition, I believe that the referees got together before the start of the matches to work on their communication in order to ensure smooth game control. I was particularly impressed by the seriousness of the referees with regard to their jobs. From a professional perspective, there were naturally some questionable moments, but I could see their efforts to improve with every match. They were clearly working to improve the quality of the game flow all the time. It was wonderful to see employees who love football working to support young people who love football."

Comment by referee Toru Suzuki, Quality Assurance Group,
Corporate Quality Assurance Division, Product Assurance & Safety Promotion Center,
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

"After I joined Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. I began playing football in the company's "Club Team" and quickly fell in love with the game. That love of football made me want to be involved in it as long as possible. So, since about 16 years ago I have been teaching football to children at a local elementary school. Since there aren't many opportunities to serve as a referee overseas, I quickly volunteered when I learned that Yamaha Motor was recruiting referees for this tournament. I am the oldest among our volunteer referees this time. I served as head referee for the first match of this tournament. I admit that I was nervous because the first game would set the standard for judging in the tournament. The pitch used in this tournament is larger than the ones we use in Japan for elementary school players, so I made an effort to run as hard as I could to cover the whole field and make my calls from as close to the play as possible. That didn't leave me much time to enjoy the games. I was truly surprised at the great physical prowess the players in this tournament showed in their speed and the strength of their kicks. Although they are only one year older that the 6th graders I teach in Japan, I was surprised at how different they are. Seeing how hard they chased after the ball made me want to tell my students about these players and their spirit. It wasn't easy running constantly to referee in the successive matches over the three days, but it was very satisfying for me to be able to spend this time with young people who truly love football and play hard. It made me glad that I have continued my involvement in football for this long."

Results
Match 1 (Group A) July 15 15:00 — 16:10

Match 2 (Group B) July 15 16:20 — 17:30

Match 3 (Group A) July 15 18:00 — 19:10

Match 4 (Group B) July 15 19:20 — 20:30

Match 5 (Group A) July 16 8:00 — 9:10

Match 6 (Group B) July 16 9:20 — 10:30

Group Results
Win = 3 points; loss = 0 points; tie = 1 point
Group A

Group B

Final Tournament

Final tournament match 1 July 16 15:20 — 16:10

Final tournament match 2 July 16 16:20 — 17:30 & July 17 8:00 — 8:30

Playoff for 3rd July 17 15 :00 — 16:10

Final championship match July 17 16:20 — 17:30