By Mousa Drammeh (writer), Raphael Bescond (photographer), Safir Cisse (graphic design), & Tsion Brown (graphic design)

A picture really is worth 1000 words. Throughout last weekend, ICSA hosted the WAISAL football competition and ICSA Insight and the WAISAL volunteers enjoyed taking pictures all around the pitches. Through their thorough and dedicated hard work, this photo article invites you to witness the joy, intensity and the overall WAISAL football vibe. 

After a sensational tournament from the ICSA Football team, where both the boys and girls won gold, some amazing (and some funny) moments were caught on the lenses of the Junior cameraman, Raphael Bescond. These single moments in time are so short but capture the essence of the electric atmosphere. The following is a top 10 of the best pictures throughout the entire tournament.

10. A Claw of Pantheresses

On Day 2, the entire female team huddles up and executes a pep talk with their Captain, Grace Bandaman & co-captain, Yasmeen Balougun leading the charge. Yasmeen Balogun says that during the pregame huddle “We  remind everyone to stay calm, cool, and collected.”  This huddle took place moments before ICSA would obliterate AISL by scoring 5 goals and not conceding a single one on the other end! As it seems the hyped up panthers had found their go-to pre-game ritual.

9. The Inevitable Herd

With ICSA’s last match of Day 1, they faced up against the LCS Lions in an anticipated matchup. A rematch of the 2017 finals with multiple people predicting a high scoring game. But it was far from that. Believe it or not, the picture above is the instant aftermath when Safir scored the opening goal (He’s in there somewhere). The herd of ICSA supporters engulfed the goal scorer during his celebration. ICSA went on to win the game 3 – 0.

8. All Eyes On Me

The audience for the first 2 days of WAISAL was nothing like I have seen before. But the finals were on a whole new level. Everyone one and their mothers were there to watch. The audience spanned all around the field and the attendance most definitely reached more than 100. The pressure that the players felt is immeasurable and impossible to describe, but this photo puts into perspective on what the players were seeing at every turn.

7.  Left in The Dust

All I can say is, “Wow!” This photo was taken right after the girls MVP Fortunate bodied a Lincoln striker off the ball. This photo encapsulates the strength that is exhibited when a panther locks its eyes on its prey. It does anything in its power to get the ball. Her calm and collected demeanor perfectly sums up her objective. Get the ball at all costs & score. Simple as that.

6. Head and Shoulders Above the Rest (Literally)

“Mama, there goes that man again!”

5. The Domino Effect

Coming in as a substitute, Ganza had to make a bold statement towards the opposition. After taking a touch from a goal kick, he took the ball onto the left wing and chopped up his defender. Once past he had a clear view of the goal and got ready to take the shot. But a quick effort from an ISD player made the shot incredibly difficult. He described it as “ I was about to shoot but the defender stuck his foot in my way, fouling me in the process.” Luckily, Ganza got the better of the dual as he was able to make contact with the ball before the defender could. In this moment captured above, all that could go through his mind was “ Humility is a man’s greatest virtue.”

4. Roaring Focal Point

Safir Cisse continued his monstrous scoring rampage in Day 2 of WAISAL. After putting the ball past the keeper once again, the crowd erupted into cheers of joy. Safir ran to the sidelines to celebrate before shortly being engulfed by his supporters. After the crowd broke up, we got this amazing emotion packed scene where Safir and everyone around him were letting their emotion run free. It emulates the roar of a Black Panther. Safir felt nothing but joy because “I was proud to see all my friends and people coming together just for that moment”. What can I say, at the end of the day he’s an entertainer at the highest level.

3. Final Destination 

After a 0 – 0 stalemate vs Lincoln on Day 2, the Panthers faced them in the finals and this time one team would come out victorious. A dynamic defensive and offensive performance from ICSA’s female team made easy work of Lincoln. Not only did the Panthers not concede a single goal, but they put 5 goals on the scoreboard. Every single player on that team shined to their fullest potential. They didn’t let the moment get to them and delivered on all fronts. The well deserved celebration comes right after the final whistle was blown. The ICSA girls team became champions for the first time in WAISAL history! As the late Helen Keller said “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence”. The girls made everyone proud and now set the standard for the Boy’s final.

2. Triumph

The girls won their final and now it was up to the boys to fulfill their duty and secure the back to back. It was the last game. All eyes were on them. The game started off with the immense intensity of both teams clashing, but eventually ICSA caught fire. They scored 2 unanswered goals before the end of the first half. Of course, it was the main man Safir. Going into the second half, ICSA was confident that they would lift the trophy at dawn. But number 15 of ARIS breathed life back into their hopes as he scored to make the score 2 – 1.

ICSA’s championship hopes were now in jeopardy. As the great Napoleon Berougate said “Victory belongs to the most persistent,” and that is exactly how ICSA ended that game. From a booming throw-in, Omar Ba went up with a man draped on him and connected with the ball for ICSA’s third goal! After the shaking of hands between opponents, the entire community stormed the field to celebrate while creating an eternal photo. Rayan Cisse (Seen in the middle with the black shirt) is just thinking “Man, my brother put on a top performance that was crazy. The hard work paid off… my seniors are legends.”

1. Les Double Championships

We couldn’t decide which one to pick, so we just chose both. These two pictures above bring so much happiness to the ICSA community. The emotion. The comradery. The atmosphere. All of these feelings are only felt by a caliber of players that work to the highest level in order to succeed.

This feeling of accomplishment can be translated from a quote from Boy’s team captain, Emilio Petridis. “ All of our hard work has finally paid off. All the promises we made to everyone were fulfilled. There’s no better way to leave ICSA than to be a two-time champion.” Girls captain Grace leaves you with two words that encapsulated the team’s victory, “God did.”