Young Hammers Aiming to Follow Ferdinand and Company
Released on: May 22, 2008, 11:53 pm
Press Release Author: Two Up Front
Industry: Marketing
Press Release Summary: The Latest batch of young Hammers is going to shine in the 2008\' HKFC Philips Lighting International Soccer Sevens.
Press Release Body: West Ham United's young players had only to turn on their hotel room TVs early today (Thursday) for the perfect incentive to play well in this week's HKFC Philips Lighting International Soccer Sevens.
If they had tuned into the UEFA Champions League final in Moscow they would have seen four graduates of the club's famed academy - Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick of Manchester United and Chelsea's Frank Lampard and Joe Cole - in action.
Watching their academy predecessors playing in Europe's biggest club game will serve as inspiration for the young Hammers when the Soccer Sevens is held from Friday to Sunday (May 23-25) at Hong Kong Football Club.
West Ham academy director Tony Carr is certainly looking to his latest batch of youngsters to shine in the popular tournament.
"We received an invitation to the Soccer Sevens and were only too happy to accept and give the boys the experience of playing seven-a-side in Asia," he explained.
"To have the chance to travel to somewhere like Hong Kong, where most of the players and staff would never normally come, was too good an opportunity to turn down.
"It's a good football experience for the boys and it's a good cultural experience as well."
Carr is rightly proud of West Ham's reputation for producing outstanding young players.
"I think we've got a fertile area in East London and Essex, so we get in there first and we're good at spotting young talent," he said. "That's the key, having an eye for development in a player rather than the finished product.
"We work very hard at improving our young players and creating an environment in the academy where very few of them want to leave, so we reap the benefits in the long term."
West Ham are among the top four seeds in the Main tournament at the Soccer Sevens. They will feature in Pool A together with 2005 and 2006 winners Urawa Red Diamonds from Japan and two Hong Kong teams, hosts HKFC and Eagles.
Carr wants the Hammers to improve on their last appearance in the tournament six years ago. "On that occasion we failed to qualify from our group, so our first target is to go one step further than that," he said. "We're looking forward to it."
Apart from Urawa, West Ham's main rivals for the HKFC Philips Lighting International Soccer Sevens title will include defending champions and fellow English Premiership club Aston Villa, Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers and current Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven.
The Australian Institute of Sport, meanwhile, are making their debut in the tournament and head coach Ray Junna is eager to see how his players - some of the best teenagers in the country - adapt.
"There are some good clubs here and so we're looking to see how we compare," he said.
"Now that we're part of the Asian Football Confederation we get to see a few more of the Asian teams, but this is a great chance to compare ourselves with some of the European clubs. It should be interesting."
A total of 32 teams - 16 in the Main competition and 16 in the Masters - are taking part in the Soccer Sevens.
Play will take place from 6:00pm to 8:30pm on Friday; from 8:00am to 8:00pm on Saturday; and from 8:00am to 7:00pm on Sunday.
Entry on Friday is free for all spectators, while all children under the age of 16 are allowed in free throughout the tournament. Adult tickets cost HK$200 for two days (Saturday and Sunday sold together) or HK$120 for one day.
Tickets can be bought via the official website - www.hksoccersevens.com - or by calling Laxton Marketing on 2866 3110, or they can be purchased at the public entrance during the tournament.
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