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British expat kids football team thrown out of local Spanish little league
| Published: | 5 Feb at 6 PM |
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Tagged: UAE
An expat kids’ football team in Mijas has been thrown out of the local football ‘little league’ for being too British and too good.
Matt Gore, the team’s head coach, was informed by telephone the team was no longer wanted in the league just as the kids were training hard for their upcoming match in Mijas’s Liga Escuelite. He told local reporters he’d been informed all the competing Spanish teams’ coaches had met and decided they no longer wanted the British team as part of the league. A Spanish representative from Mijas Town Hall gave the reason that the team wasn’t connected to any one municipal school, but Gore believes it’s because his team has won no less than seven trophies over the past three years.
A football coach for 20 years, Gore is furious and is describing the decision as ‘racist’, adding all his kids want to do is play football, but they're now being discriminated against. The Field of Dreams team has been officially incorporated in the league for three years, with expat lawyer Sean Thacker, whose son is in the team, agreeing with Gore’s reading of the situation. He told reporters he’s astonished that children who love the game have become the victims of discrimination simply because they’re British and good at the game.
Jesus Moreno, speaking on behalf of Mijas town hall, insists there is nothing racist about the decision to exclude the Field of Dreams team, as other teams have also been removed. He said the team could take part in next season’s Liga Escuelite matches provided they registered correctly, adding the new league is now strictly made up of teams which belong to Mijas’s Municipal School of Soccer. He added it’s now impossible for any external team to enter the Escuaela Municipal de Futbol, but failed to explain why a new league had been deemed necessary.
Matt Gore, the team’s head coach, was informed by telephone the team was no longer wanted in the league just as the kids were training hard for their upcoming match in Mijas’s Liga Escuelite. He told local reporters he’d been informed all the competing Spanish teams’ coaches had met and decided they no longer wanted the British team as part of the league. A Spanish representative from Mijas Town Hall gave the reason that the team wasn’t connected to any one municipal school, but Gore believes it’s because his team has won no less than seven trophies over the past three years.
A football coach for 20 years, Gore is furious and is describing the decision as ‘racist’, adding all his kids want to do is play football, but they're now being discriminated against. The Field of Dreams team has been officially incorporated in the league for three years, with expat lawyer Sean Thacker, whose son is in the team, agreeing with Gore’s reading of the situation. He told reporters he’s astonished that children who love the game have become the victims of discrimination simply because they’re British and good at the game.
Jesus Moreno, speaking on behalf of Mijas town hall, insists there is nothing racist about the decision to exclude the Field of Dreams team, as other teams have also been removed. He said the team could take part in next season’s Liga Escuelite matches provided they registered correctly, adding the new league is now strictly made up of teams which belong to Mijas’s Municipal School of Soccer. He added it’s now impossible for any external team to enter the Escuaela Municipal de Futbol, but failed to explain why a new league had been deemed necessary.
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