Our resident football legend, Jonny Haigh, has once again made the Aire Global team proud by representing England’s Over-40s football team at the Senior World Cup 2024, in Thailand.
“Participating in the Seniors World Cup in Thailand has been an incredible experience for me, and 2024 marks my fourth visit. My journey began in 2018 when I was the only non-ex-professional player in the England squad. This year, the event was even more special as a significant part of the Harrogate Veterans team and other ex-professionals from across the country joined.
The trip is by no means a holiday, it’s sheer hard work. Our journey started in Manchester with two flights where the majority of our northern squad members met. We flew to Abu Dhabi and then on to Bangkok, arriving on Thursday, 30th May. We met up with the southern part of the squad at Bangkok airport and took a coach to Pattaya for a three-day acclimatisation camp.
In Pattaya, the intensive training started, and we played our first friendly match against another veteran team. Our teamwork was on point, and despite the insane temperatures we were getting used to, we secured a comfortable 7-0 victory on Sunday, 1st June.
Then, it was on to our competition hotel in central Bangkok, where we stayed for the remainder of the tournament. Group games started after our second day in Bangkok. In our group, we faced Australia (3rd June), Vietnam (4th June), and Thailand (5th June). The match against Australia ended in a tight 0-0 draw, but we won the remaining group games, propelling us into the semi-finals against Iran, one of our main rivals in previous years.
Before the semi-finals, we had our ‘free day’, which we had always made the most of in previous years, and this year was no different. We travelled approximately two hours by coach to visit local schools. It’s always been such a rewarding experience, and it’s something we look forward to doing. All the fatigue goes out the window when we see the joy and excitement on the children’s faces, which makes it so worthwhile. We gather as much as we can from sponsors in the UK and take it with us to gift to the schools. This year, Aire sent Aire-branded caps that the children absolutely loved.
After visiting the first school and having lunch, we headed to a second school, where we played a friendly match against selected school kids. The children’s enthusiasm and awe were unbelievable.
In the late afternoon, we went to a nearby football stadium for a ‘coaching for kids’ session with school children from various countries. We distributed football kits, boots and balls, donated by our teams and clubs back home. The sheer joy on their faces, respect, and happiness were touching, and our visit was well-received… it even made it into the Bangkok Times!!
The Seniors World Cup is more than just a competition for all of us who are lucky enough to be asked to attend. It’s an opportunity to make a positive impact on the local community, which makes all the hard work and effort incredibly rewarding. I was a bit glad to get back to cooler temperatures, though!”
