Cowichan Eagles win cup and hearts

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"In the end they were cheering for us," said Fred George, manager of the Cowichan Eagles who won the final of the Dynamic Euro Cup futsal tournament in Hassett, Belgium on March 27.

Futsal is essentially indoor soccer played on a hard court that is similar in size to a basketball court. The Eagles defeated Tranmere Victoria from Liverpool, England 2-0 in the final of a tournament that featured 24 teams from 12 countries from across Europe. Tranmere Victoria is the top futsal team in England.

The Eagles won all eight of the games they played in a tournament in which entry was by invitation only.

The Eagles started the tournament by winning their group. From their round robin they went on to a game in which they received their biggest scare of the tournament winning only 4-3 over Derde H Elftal Enschede from the Netherlands.

In the quarter finals they defeated Shoe Disc Halen from Belgium 4-2. In the semi final they defeated Dragons Clavis Opglabbeek from Belguim 3-0.

The Eagles range in age from 19 to 34. The 11-member team includes Chris Alphonse (goalie), Keith Seymour (goalie), Dwayne George, Craig George, Howard George, George Thomas, Alec Johnnie, Chuck Seymour, Brad Thorne, Francis Wilson and Blake Baker.

Alphonse was named the best goaltender of the tournament.

"We raise our hands to these boys," said Dora Wilson, acting chief of the Cowichan Tribes in a press release sent to this publication.

"The hours of practice and competition these boys put in has paid off. Not only have they done us proud, but the Cowichan Valley, B.C., Canada, and all First Nations should be proud as well, because this is a tremendous achievement," she said.

The Cowichan Eagles are no strangers to travelling to Europe.

In 2003 the Eagles went to England to play in the National Club Championship and finished fifth. Based on their play in that tournament they were invited to the Dynamic Euro Cup in 2004, but were unable to attend because of a shortage of funds, said Eagles coach Chip Seymour.

The Eagles receive support from the Cowichan Tribes, but they still raise money individually in order to travel and pay tournament entry fees.

"Getting ready for the tournament was something that was hard for us to do, because we had no idea what kind of teams, their calibre, ball skills the players would have," said Seymour.

Despite the Eagles concerns about training, he said he wasn't surprised to see his team win because the Eagles have been together and winning since 1988. He considers the team one of the top five teams in the world.

"We have always said that we lost games to teams that were beatable," said Seymour. "Something that we worked on was to finish those games that should be finished with us winning."

George described what it was like as an Aboriginal team playing in front of a European audience.

"At first we all felt like they were really all cold towards us," said George. As they kept winning, however, more of the teams threw their support behind the Eagles.

"By the time we reached the semi-finals and the finals, all the other teams were cheering for Canada," said George.

The Eagles have also been provincial champions for about 10 to 12 years running, said George.

It was their record as provincial champions that got the Eagles recognized internationally, and garnered invitations to play in international tournaments, Seymour said.

As a result of winning the Dynamic Euro Cup, the Eagles have been invited to two more European tournaments, one in the Czech Republic and one in Germany.