La Liga Partnership & Championship Events put ICS Football in Spotlight

It may have been the busiest weekend on the ICS Addis campus all year long.

Hundreds of athletes and coaches traveled from around southern and eastern Africa to join the ICS community for the 2024 ISSEA Football Championships this April. The tournament featuring teams from eight international schools is the biggest event of the year for our student-athletes, and the ICS community came out to support – both on the sidelines and by tuning into live broadcasts around the world.

But this year's championship tournament was just one way that football commanded the athletics spotlight during the 2023-2024 school year. Elementary School students spent weeks ahead of the tournament in their art and class times supporting the visiting schools by preparing signs. The varsity athletes hosted football camps focused on fun for their younger peers. ICS parents and staff visited the student store to buy the latest Eagles merchandise, including sunglasses, hats, and the now infamous ICS #1 Fan t-shirt. 

Varsity boys coaches Jose Garcia and Peter Powell brought the spark that led to this community-wide celebration of the game, and they were determined to continue spreading the football flame.

Coach Jose worked with representatives from the embassy of his native Spain to arrange a visit from La Liga, which leveraged its international fame to host a popular day-long workshop with lessons and games for our Middle School students -- an event that may be the first step in a new long-term partnership.

“It was very good to see the presence La Liga has in Africa and the actions we have taken in neighboring countries, to see the potential of this partnership,” La Liga Delegate for International Development Alvaro Abreu Puig said of his visit to ICS Addis.

“We aim for long-term impact in youth and families using football as a vehicle for growth and new life opportunities. We have partnered in many regions with top international schools, and we think ICS has all the requirements and structure to develop a great collaboration together.”

Just a few weeks later, our ICS Eagles were back on the pitch – this time looking to defend their Addis Ababa city championship from the previous season. It had been more than a decade since the team was able to accomplish back-to-back ISSAAA championships, and the coaches knew it would take something special.

As Coach Pete wrote:

"The first thing was building a culture. We needed a philosophy, a code of conduct, and a way of being on the football field. This takes time to build. We want them to have fun and enjoy sessions but they need to buy in with a focus and with commitment. We talked about creating a footballing identity. How do we want to play with the players we’ve got? What is our style? On the ball, off the ball. Tactics, technique. In possession, out of possession, transitioning, defending, attacking. And then how to impart this to the players.”

The long season paid off, and the enthusiasm that had been building for football at ICS reached a climax when the our Eagles earned the crown in the final match of the season with a 5-3 victory over neighboring Bingham Academy.

They became back-to-back champions. The celebrations were large, but the focus quickly turned back to the bigger picture: the long-term success of the football program at ICS Addis beginning with the next season.

ICS will travel to the American School of Lusaka in Zambia for next year’s ISSEA, and they will hunt for a three-peat in ISSAAA – a feat that has not been achieved since a date that cannot be verified by the school’s record-keeping. 

While the team will miss the veteran presence of its few Grade 12s, including their goalkeeper, it is the culture the team built that will live on and fuel the entire school – from Early Years to Elementary, to Middle School and even to our strong community of parents and partners – to believe in the future of ICS Eagles football.