Sports Projects

The Football ambassadors of Lagos Island hosted the 5 Stars of Egbeda!

Extra-time winner secures the Scottish Cup for the juvenile club for the first time in their 27-year history. Westdyke Community Club are Scottish Cup champions for the first time in the club’s history. The Westdyke under-13s team, who play in the A League of the Aberdeen and District Juvenile FA, beat Airdrie Pumas 2-1 in extra-time in Airdrie to win the cup for the first time on Sunday. Coach David Dunn was thrilled to see his 2010 squad lift the cup, but insists the win is one for everyone at the club. He said: “What a day yesterday for us. “It’s such a difficult competition. We started with 426 teams at this age group, so to go and win it is incredible. “To get to a final is a huge achievement in its own right but to go and win it is massive for everyone involved, not just the team but the entire club. “It’s the first time Westdyke Community Club has won the Scottish Cup since it started 27 years ago, so this is absolutely huge. “For the boys it’s great, but it’s for everybody to be honest as it is a real team effort behind the scenes. “We’re coaches, but this isn’t for us – it’s for the kids. It’s their achievement, but my goodness the boys were absolutely outstanding. “It’s a lifelong memory for them.” Westdyke backed by well-wishers on video and a bumper travelling support Westdyke were cheered on by family, friends and clubmates as they came from behind to win the cup in the most dramatic of circumstances. The team also received video messages wishing them good luck from Gothenburg Greats Gordon Strachan and Neil Simpson, to current players Jonny Hayes, Graeme Shinnie and Joe Lewis, as well as others from Pittodrie and further afield. Dunn was grateful for the support. He said: “We had a terrific video wishing us well from the Aberdeen team coach for the final to try to make the game as special as we could. “We had a supporters’ bus of our own team’s parents and the other 2010 team also came down. “We split into two 11-a-side teams as we moved to the competitive structure, so there’s Westdyke CC, which is us, and Westdyke Thistle. “All the players and parents came down to support us and it was fantastic from everyone involved.” A fitting finale for the big game The final itself lived up to the billing with Westdyke rallying from 1-0 down at half-time to force extra-time before winning the cup in the dying seconds of the additional 30 minutes. Dunn said: “We were 1-0 down after a very difficult first half. “We didn’t settle and Airdrie Pumas did. They came at us and got their goal after a ricochet between two of our defenders allowed their striker to nip in and score. “We changed formation at half-time to try to get ourselves back into the game. We play 35 minutes each way so we had to go for it and the boys stepped it up a notch. “They were brilliant in the second half and got the equaliser through Lucas Stephen to take the game to extra-time. “Louie Scott then scored with the final kick of the ball at the end of extra-time for us to win the game.” The cup winners partied their way back to the north-east on Sunday night – but they will quickly be back into the fold tonight as their focus turns to their outstanding league fixtures. Dunn said: “We’ve been a victim of our own success in some ways. “The Scottish Cup takes precedence over the league games so, as we’ve progressed, the league games have backed up. “We still have five league games to play. “We’re back in action tomorrow at Balmoral Stadium against Cove Rangers for a very tough game. “We play again at Lawsondale on Thursday, then again on Sunday, so the games keep coming. “We normally train Wednesdays and Fridays, but it is very light just now on Wednesdays-only, where we work on set-pieces and things like that. “Training is very light at the moment, but the boys are loving it.”

  On the 26th of March 2023, we held our 2nd annual football tournament in Lagos Nigeria and it was a great success. We partnered with Ambassadors FC, Otumara and Five stars FC, Egbeda who have been working with these kids. These clubs provide a safe space for these children as well as help them to grow their talent. Their ethos align with ours very strongly. We are grateful to Westdyke community football club for providing old kits that the kids continue to use for training and tournaments. To support our mission, please click the link below Donate