By David Forrest
Glasgow Clyde College (GCC) triumphed over their rivals Glasgow Kelvin College 2-1 in the final of the inaugural ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) College Cup, held at the Renfrew Sports Centre.
The team, coached by ESOL lecturer Tony Garner, included players from Sudan, Algeria and Syria.
Scotland, and Edinburgh College compete.
The event was organised by Active Campus Coordinators and relevant departments from each institution, who were aiming to promote inclusion and community amongst participating students.
And it was a double celebration for GCC’s Sudanese centre-back Labeeb Adam, whose birthday fell on the same day.
“It was a long day,” said Labeeb. “We played four 30-minute matches in one day. It was so hot. Between the matches, some players were just lying back in the shade. Our defender, Patu, was just sleeping.”
“It was very difficult, it has been quite a very long
time since I played such an amount of time. For the
next two to three days, I felt like I’ve just learned how
to walk.”
For Labeeb, beating Kelvin to win the trophy was special after losing three times previously to them, including earlier in the tournament.
“It has a different taste.” says Labeeb. “We felt like we are responsible, we can arrange ourselves as a team, and do something together.”
Kelvin took a 1-0 lead. “We were shocked,” admitted Labeeb. “We felt like, ‘no, it’s happening again’ [in reference to previous games in the year against their opponents]. We almost gave up, but we kept trying to do something.” Clyde equalised, before a dramatic late winner, two minutes from time saw them grab the win.
“We were nervous, but we got there.” said Labeeb. “This is my first time to win a cup in my life. The most special thing…it was on my birthday, so I felt like it’s my gift.”
Watch the video below to see more and hear from manager Tony Garner and right back Mahmoud Elalamy.
