Hyatt Hotels in India, along with the Consular Corps Association of Mumbai (CCAM) and the Premier India Football Academy (PIFA), celebrated the Hyatt Expat Premier League finals on May 10, 2015 with a series of matches played for the Hyatt Trophy and other prizes.

The finale of the Hyatt Expat Premier League was held at the Ascend International School, Bandra-Kurla grounds on Mother’s Day. Families with fathers, sons and daughters playing in the finals enjoyed the sunny, carnival atmostphere that included freestyle football artistes wandering around, face painters and tatoo artists who painted team logos on young faces, entertaining music and delicious foods of the world (provided by Auriga Restobar).

The prestigious Hyatt Trophy for the men’s team was won by Ivory Coast Consulate. The Alonso Cubs team won in the Under 18 group, Real FC in the Under 14s and PIFA Cubs in the Under 11s. Exhibition matches were played between three girls’ team – Hyatt Swans and two teams from PIFA. Tricia Collaco from one of the PIFA teams won the best player award, wherein she was gifted with a pair of Nike Shoes by Hyatt. South African Consul General in Mumbai, H.E. Pule Malefane and Sunjae Sharma, Area General Manager for Hyatt Hotels in Western India and General Manager of Grand Hyatt Mumbai, were present at the event and gave away the prizes.

H.E Pule Malefane, who was playing in the finals for the South African Consulate team commented, “Hyatt EPL was a great way to spend our Sundays. The spirit of the game was well-maintained throughout the tournament, making it a fantastic initiative for the kids to grow better as sportsmen.”

“It is a real pleasure to see so many people from different countries around the world come together to play football on a Sunday morning in Mumbai. Hyatt is proud to be a part of this unique undertaking and to support the sport of football, along with the Consular Corps Association of Mumbai and PIFA. As sponsors of the Hyatt Silver Swans underprivileged girls’ football team, we are already involved with helping to empower our girls through football, and hope to continue to contribute to the sport’s rising popularity in India,” said Yasmin Poonegar, Director of Corporate Communications, Southwest Asia for Hyatt Hotels and Resorts.

“The Hyatt Expat Premier League is a tournament which has all the elements of the beautiful game; fun, competition, skills, teamwork, humility, mentoring and bonding with your child. It is player-first and player focused. Every decision, every rule and every program has “what’s good for the player”. The player-first approach also makes it one of the finest player development programs in the country,” said Nirvan Shah, Founder of the 10-year-old PIFA.

The League has age appropriate small-sided games and was run in Mumbai over 8 Sundays, from April 26 to May 10, 2015, attracting more than 200 participants from participating Consulates, parents, teachers and students of International Schools and PIFA members.

Participants for the Hyatt Expat Premier League
• South African Consulate
• Ivory Coast Consulate
• American Consulate
• American School of Mumbai
• Ecole Mondiale School
• Oberoi International School
• Ascend International School
• Sunflower Nursery Parents
• Singapore International School
• Mixed Teams with nationalities covering Romania, Brazil, Ireland, England.
• Hyatt Silver Swans
• PIFA Elite U-19
• PIFA Elite U-15
• PIFA Academy