Published: 6 June, 2013
by CATHERINE ETOE

GUNNER Wojciech Szczesny made it a presentation night to remember for Academy FC footballers when the top shot-stopper attended their presentation night and handed out the club’s golden glove award to the best keeper in the roster.

Under-11 keeper Aymen Azaze beat off stiff competition from four other AFC keepers to receive the award. And manager Arjun Deb praised the young player’s record of having conceded just four goals all season and scored two.

“Aymen’s record speaks for itself,” he said, adding that the youngster had since been invited to trial at newly-promoted Premiership side Crystal Palace.

Szczesny’s visit topped a whirlwind of an inaugural season for Camden and Islington-based side AFC, whose teams of under 10s-14s more than held their own in the Camden and Regent’s Park Youth League, with Aymen and his Under-11 team-mates winning their division.

Their adventures did not end there this season though – last week AFC’s Under-13s attended the ESPN Disney Cup International youth tournament in Florida and played three games against opposition from the US, Mexico and Argentina. Club manager Liton Shah said the trip, which took over a year to plan and was paid for by parents and fundraising, was a richly rewarding experience for the players even though they were knocked out after three games.

“It was a new experience for the boys and because it’s our first year we wanted to do something different,” he said. “It raised team spirit and showed us that there’s more to football in America than we know. The level on display was really quite impressive. Even though we didn’t progress as we would have liked to, the experience will stay with them.”

Next season the club aim to play in the Echo Junior League and tour Dubai.

If you are interested in playing for AFC and are aged between 7 and 14 call 07535 883316 or you can email: info@academyfc.co.uk