Thai team lift Standard Chartered Trophy
A five-a-side team from Thailand emulated some of the Liverpool's greatest ever legends on Tuesday by lifting silverware at Anfield as the second annual Standard Chartered Trophy tournament took place.
More than 80 participants from around the world gathered at the home of the Reds to take part in the finals of the global football tournament hosted by the club's main sponsor, Standard Chartered.
12 finalist countries - Bahrain, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Korea, Malaysia, Nigeria, Singapore, Thailand, UAE and the UK - conducted tournaments in their home country, with the winning team from each travelling to Liverpool to represent their country in the Standard Chartered Trophy finals.
And, after skippering his side to success, winning captain Samram Artsana admitted he'd lived the dream.
He said: "This is an amazing experience, all the teams performed really well and the standard of the tournament was very high.
"We'd like to thank Standard Chartered and the Club in providing a once in a life-time experience, playing at Anfield is a dream come true."
Marc Davies, senior LFC sponsorship manager at Standard Chartered, added: "The Standard Chartered Trophy is our flagship event.
"Over 4,500 participants signed up to take part across the globe, highlighting the pull of Liverpool FC. We are thrilled to put on another fantastic event for football fans and Standard Chartered customers from around the world."
Ahead of the tournament, participants were given a team-talk from manager Brendan Rodgers, sharing his top tips on preparing for a game.
Liverpool legends Ian Rush and John Barnes also got involved when they took part in a coaching session with participants at the Reds Academy.
Liverpool's chief commercial officer Billy Hogan said: "This event demonstrates not only the reach of the club but also the reach of our partner Standard Chartered.
"It is an incredible feat to host an event of this scale in 12 countries spread out across the world. Huge congratulations to Thailand for winning the tournament and thank you to every other team that took part."
