:) - make sure to check the post below this for the tourney recap.

Congratulations to all of the brothers who helped make the Calgary Diversity Cup 2006 campaign a success. We captured 3rd Place and missed the chance to fight for 1st Place in the final by one goal in the semi-final match against a team which plays in Calgary's highest league. With the game evenly matched and our team even dominating parts of the game, with 10 minutes left, we conceded a free kick just outside of the box and as if in slow motion through our eyes and our bodies unable to do anything, frozen in time, the ball rolled its way into the bottom right of the net. The Semi-Final game reminded us though that we can play against almost anyone. Next time perhaps it'll be us who edges out with a 1-0 win.

We were also honoured with the Cam Stewart Cup given for sportsmanship and excellent conduct both on and off the field. Alhamdulillah, when you make an effort to display good character, people take note. We didn't even know that this trophy existed and I was therefore pleasantly surprised when I saw the email in my inbox after having come back from the tourney. Below is the main portion of the email from the tournament organizer:

"Thanks for attending the tournament; I hope to see you again next year. The true purpose of the tournament is to have fun and interact with members of other cultures and communities, with this in mind sportsmanship is very much an integral part of the tournament. After watching all the games played, my Middle East Police Advisory Committee felt that most of the teams played well and displayed fair conduct; however your team stood out in this regard and best displayed great conduct on and off the field. For this reason your team has been awarded the Cam Stewart Cup, which is a trophy given out to the above reasons. "

I have a personal Flickr account which is essentially an online photo album. I put up all the photos that I have from the weekend onto it so check out the photos and enjoy. If you have any photos that you want added up there just get in touch with me.

FC AI in Calgary Diversity Cup 2006 - photo album (Flickr)

 

Assalamualaikum.
For this weekend's tournament in Calgary we've created a tournament package for your convenience. It's a PDF file and within it you'll find everything that you'll need for this tournament. There are waiver forms inside which must be filled out and signed before you're allowed to play. As well, you'll need to pay the small $10 tournament fee to us to be able to play.

The PDF file has already been emailed to you and many of you have gotten a hard copy of it. However, for your convience, we've uploaded it online as well so you can download it and print it off whenever you need it:
http://www.box.net/public/9q1qzqutkl

Also, here is the 2006 Diversity Cup Soccer Tournament website

Assalamualaikum bros,

Please mark your calendars for this Thursday (June 22) at 7PM for the crucial practice. The practice will be held at the same place as usual, by the masjid. This practice is especially crucial for the brothers going to the soccer tournament this weekend. We'll be updating everyone about the tournament and how we're planning to get there, where we're going to stay, etc.

There are some waiver forms that HAVE to be signed by you and your parents/guardians to be able to play in the tournament.

Also, we'll need to get our goalie for the tournament (Ashraf) prepped for the tournament and go over tournament strategy.

2006 Diversity Cup Soccer Tournament - website
- We'll ensure that everyone gets a hard copy of the tournament waiver form but you can also go to the website and print off the waiver form yourself.

Next Practice:
Thursday (June 22) @ 7PM by the Markaz ul-Islam as always.

This is an important practice, especially for those coming to the tournament this coming weekend. We'll be passing on all the details of the weekend as well as preparing for the actual gameplay of the weekend.

Next Game:Wednesday, June 21, 2006 @ 8:15 PM (be there 30 min early)Archbishop O'Leary (87 St. - 132 Ave.)
Black Label vs. FC AI

 

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall"
- Confucius

We will certainly rise every time and we will always be back for more.

(click on image for larger version)

Next Game
GCS United vs. FC AI
Wednesday, June 14; 7PM
Coronation #1 (135 St. - 112 Ave.)

Please arrive 30 minutes early as usual so we're ready to play a strong game against GCS United. GCS won 10-1 in one of their games so they're not to be taken lightly. They were an extremely competitive team last year as well when we played against them. Let's keep up the momentum and bring the usual FC AI class to the field.

Next Practice

Sunday, June 11
5:30 - 7:30PM
Leefield Community Centre fields (opposite the Markaz masjid - same practice grounds as usual)

Make sure you come on time because we'll only have 2 hours sharp to play since we'll be going in at 7:45PM to join in for Asr jamaat prayers in the Markaz.

Game Summary

Excellent job on Wednesday against Raasay Gray, the #2 team in the league right now. We won 5-0 and our win-loss record is 5-0, making us the first place team. Alhamdulillah, we're starting the season strong leaving no doubt which team has the skill and strength to take the first spot. We'll have to stay in top form though and not allow ourselves to slip up during the season.

The FC AI defence, as usual, kept the area around net locked down and allowed very few shooting chances for the other team. Although a striker from the other team broke through on 2-3 occasions and looked as if he was on his way to score, the defence came back and swept the ball away with ease. The FC AI defence and the brick wall of a goalie Omar Taliani have held opposing teams to only one goal in 5 games.

Excellent passing play and ball control by the midfield and the offence lines. The quality of play was excellent with FC AI controlling the ball for an overwhelming majority of the game. Two goals were knocked in by Akram Elbouhssini although he likely should have seen more goals on his tally sheet. He made many runs at net and had many scoring opportunities but most of the shots were just wide or too high. Ayman dropped in 2 goals as well. Obada Mustafa, one of the defensive anchors at right fullback, went up to score from a set piece early in the game.

Our next game is this Wednesday at 7PM against GCS United at Coronation #1 (135St. - 112Ave.)

Game:
Wednesday, June 7, 2006 kickoff @ 8:15PM (arrive 7:45PM)
FC AI vs. Raasay Gray
Confederation Park #2 (the fields by Harry Ainlay, Louie, and Confed Leisure Centre) 43 Ave. - 112 St.

The practice after this will be next Sunday insha'allah (will update on exact time insha'allah).
Unfortunately, our game against Raasay Gray is scheduled around the end of the Oilers game broadcast tomorrow (6PM). The series looks to be a tough one with Rollie the Goalie who's been saving our butts all playoffs out of net and the Oilers down 1-0. It's definitely going to be an exciting series. Having said all that, please try your best to show your dedication to this team and come early to the game so that we're in playing condition. Even if someone has one of those portable radios which we can have blasting while we're dressing up and warming up that'd be pretty cool I think.

See you all at tomorrow's game and let's keep up the momentum insha'allah and make this a historical season in FC AI history.

Assalamualaikum everyone,

My apologies for the lengthy post but it is extremely crucial that you read this post in its entirety or otherwise read it in your email box. The info in here lays out our FC AI plans for the upcoming few weeks all the way through till the end of June so it's imperative that you are up to date.

Practice - has been moved to this Sunday (June 4) from 7 - 9PM.
Since we have the ability to change practices, FC AI Management has decided to change our upcoming Monday practices. The Oilers are playing Game 1 and Game 4 on the two upcoming Mondays. In addition, the HC Dynamos brothers have a hockey game later on those two evenings. Therefore, for the two upcoming Monday, practices, they are being rescheduled to the Sunday.
So, the upcoming practice is Sunday June 4 from 7-9PM and the practice after that is Sunday June 11 from 7-9PM, both at the Leefield fields by the Markaz.
Should the Oilers go to Game 7 on Monday June 19, we'll be having our practice that week on the Sunday June 18 from 7-9PM.

We are going out of our way to accomodate everyone. Please show your appreciation and gratefullness and loyalty to the team by arriving to the practices and putting in your full effort. Although we've been winning, it's mainly because we've been playing weak teams. Even the much hyped Chile B as we saw, had poor ball control, their defence was non-existent, and they had so many scoring opportunities but they just had no offence to speak of. We're showing a lot of holes and we're often out of sync. Our passes aren't necessarily always connecting and there are often miscommunications. This is all because only about 6-7 dedicated players show up to practices every time and the rest think that they can just saunter into a game once a week and be in top form. The best players in the world train nearly daily and we think we're so good that we don't even need to train once a week?

Game - this Wednesday, June 7 @ 8:15PM - Confederation #2 (112St. - 43Ave. - same place where we played our exhibition game against Afghan United - the ones by Ainlay High)
Please ensure that you're there 30 minutes early to the game so we have time to prepare and sync as a team. We cannot show up on the field at the last minute and expect to be in top playing form. It also leads to administrative problems with the referee and puts us in their bad books and automatically puts us at a disadvantage referee wise.

We're well aware that the Oilers are playing Game 2 against the Hurricanes at 6PM. The Wednesday after, during the game after this one, the Oilers are playing Game 5 at 6PM while we have a 8:15PM game.
For all of our games, we are expecting you there 30 minutes early. We are going to be especially strict with this for the two upcoming Wednesdays. We will NOT tolerate players who want to try to catch as much of the Oilers game as possible and rush out in their car and try to time it so they get to the field just as the game starts. If you do something like this or if you decide not to play, you are disrespecting me, your Captain, your two Assistant Captains, your Manager, your Coach Uncle Alami and letting down your entire team.

Let us make something very very crystal clear. You are playing for FC AI. Not the Edmonton Oilers. We have done our utmost to accomodate our beloved city's team the Oilers for things such as practices and exhibition games. When it comes to League games which matter though, we have to get our game faces on and fight for what actually matters.
You are signed with the FC AI Soccer Club of Edmonton. The Al-Ikhwan. The Brotherhood. I'm going to be very ballsy and say straight up that I consider the Al-Ikhwan to be THE Muslim team to beat in this province. We have beaten every Muslim team that I know of in this province and we have done it in class and we have done it without leaving a shadow of a doubt which team dominates the soccer pitch and which team of young fiery Muslim brothers are to be feared. We have a long history and a privileged one so do not take your commitment with us lightly. If you will not bring honour to the coveted spot which you have gained on this team, there are countless others who will jump at the chance.
When all is said and done, the Edmonton Oilers insha'allah will write another chapter in their proud history and perhaps bring back the golden days when we were truly the City of Champions and had players such as Gretzky and Messier running the other teams ragged. The Oilers are out fighting their battle but we have our own important battles to fight. We may not have much of North America watching our games but in my mind, we are involved in a much greater effort and mission. The Oilers may be playing for glory but we are fighting for far greater stakes. We are fighting for glory, for success, for honour, for our values, and to represent Islam as proud ambassadors who never shrink back from challenges. We are fighting for the greatest prize that there is which no one or anything on Earth can deliver. Wallahi brothers, the history which we are writing right now in Edmonton and have been for the past few years, you will never have a chance to hold that kind of pen which writes history again so do not abandon the pen carelessly.

Men's Tournament - June 24, 25 - Calgary
http://www.calgarypolice.ca/news/diversitycup_2006.html

We will be entering the Calgary Police Service's Diversity Cup Soccer Tournament in the Men's Division (18-35). We will also see if we are able to assemble a Youth (ages 15-17) team. If you are registered and playing with FC AI soccer in the league, then you are definitely in for this tourney so if you're above 18 make sure to go ahead and book off work and your other commitments. I talked to the police officer in charge of the officer and he told me that everything including the closing ceremonies, the medal presentations etc. will be done at about 4:15PM on Sunday so that allows those who are in a rush to get back home to Edmonton by 7PM.
If you are not a registered player with our league team, talk to me (Muntaka) and we'll try to get you in insha'allah. There are limited spots however. We don't want to carry more than 16 players to the tournament for each team.

Jazakullahkhairan for your time.
Muntaka Shah, FC AI Captain & FC AI Management