World in One City founder “couldn’t ask for better”

The World in One City founder knows he can’t complain about “competition with the Euro”.

The 2024 WIOC final did not disappoint as it kicked off at Jericho Lane with 2022 winners England taking on Libya. The WIOC saw 16 teams, drawn from their national heritage, reach the tournament stage to see who would be crowned champions in 2024.

Libya succeeded by defeating the favorites of the match the Somali team 1 – 0, scoring with three minutes to go. England beat Rest of the World on penalties, 3-2, after the match ended 0-0.

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WIOC founder Imad Ali said: “Libya England is going to be a tasty one; Libya comes with their culture, their fans and their energy. England come with their reputation so it should be a good encounter.

“We can’t complain considering we competed with Euro. The weather wasn’t the best, but people still came out in droves.

“I’m extremely proud. A dream come true. I can’t take all the credit; I have a huge team of guys who give their time and effort and do such a good job of putting the show on for everyone.”

Chris Walker, the England manager, was not distracted by the national team’s performance and of his game plan he said: “Libya are a fit team who work hard and chase every ball.

“We have to match their energy or we will be outmatched by them. If we match their energy, I would say we have more quality.

“The tournament was superb, we are in the final. Let’s hope we can make it better and take the trophy home.”

Libyan manager Malek Elwerfalli added: “We got to the quarter-finals in the first year, unfortunately we didn’t in the second or third year. Unexpectedly, this year we got to the final and we weren’t under pressure, I think that this is the main thing that brings us here.

“Other teams like Nigeria, Jamaica, everyone expected to be in the final. They were under pressure, eliminated by us. Today we will make it, we will take her home. Inshallah, we have to fight until the last minute and win.”

The match started later than the scheduled 14.00 on June 30. The first half saw no goalkeeper really tested and ended 0-0. Both teams played with passion, flashes of skill displayed by underdogs Libya who overcame the first half with battles all over the pitch in a game that was not for the faint of heart.

In the second half, the England keeper was called upon to make some crucial saves when Libya looked certain to score. The best chances of the game were squandered by Libya; shooting wide or thwarted by England’s keeper, who was in top form.

England’s chances were few and far between and they went down a man for decent. This made their task more difficult, losing their leader and top scorer of the tournament due to some choice words directed at the referee.

Despite outplaying the game and the best chances, Libya failed to find the clinical finishes and the script was set for it to finish goalless. The final whistle signaled the dreaded penalty shoot-out after it finished 0-0.

After a Libyan save and Libya hitting the bar, the shootout was tied at 4 – 4 when it went into sudden death. Libya saved the next spot kick and the Libyan fans stormed the pitch thinking they had won but were left with their hands on their heads, the Libyan keeper didn’t have at least one foot on the goal line and this led to a replay .

England scored, making the score 5 – 4 to England. Libya scored the next kick to tie it at 5-5.

Libya saved England’s next kick and the fans invaded but the tie was not over, Libya had to score to win.

They scored, and third time lucky, the fans rushed onto the pitch. They and the players beat drums, chanted and held flares as they marched in victory as the 2024 WIOC Champions.

At the victory, Libyan manager Malek was “over the moon” and his voice was almost gone. He said: “I enjoyed the good feeling of being WIOC winners.

“We were the underdogs. We were playing without any pressure (and) that helped us get to the final. That was the main thing.

“The guys today made it through hard work. Their goalkeeper was incredible today, but from the first minute we knew we were going to win.

“We fought for it with all the hard work. Of course, hard work pays off and that’s what happened today.”

WIOC founder Imad continued: “The teams performed at the level I expected and overall I’m very, very happy with how 2024 went. Now it’s an expectation, the pressure is always there to put on tournaments like this .

“We had to make sure it was better this year and we’re planning for next year before this year is over. Amazing. I honestly couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

For information, interviews, images, videos and more, visit WIOC HERE

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