We are delighted to announce the January winners of our LFC International Academy Teams of the Month competition

Teams are nominated by staff at LFC academies across the globe to recognise their achievements, whether it’s been a success on the pitch or representing our club values off it. Nominations are then reviewed by LFC and the winners selected.

This month’s winners are teams from LFC IA Maryland and LFC IA SoCal.

LFC IA Maryland academy director Alan Lydiate nominated his 2004 Central Girls team who have booked their place in the National Championships. Several of the top 15U-19U Girls teams and players in the US Youth Soccer National League competed. Alan said of the achievement: “This is a fantastic group of girls, to reach the national finals is no small feat and we couldn't be more proud of them.

“Coach Marlowe is an incredible coach, and the girls love to play for him and for each other, with a great group of parents it's a recipe for success and the girls continue to show us there are no limits to what they can achieve as a team”.

Our winners from LFC IA SoCal were nominated by Ron Paredes who coaches the 2009 girls team. This team is relatively new to each other and has competed in two tournaments so far since November 2022. After struggling in the first tournament, Coach Parades saw this as an opportunity to really focus and buckle down, which is exactly what happened.

Coach Parades said “The second tournament we participated in was Anaheim FC Winter Classic at Silverlakes. It was an amazing tournament in which we really had to dig deep and not only compete against our opponents but also the weather at hand.

“It literally stormed both days but we played on. Girls had to play in soaking wet uniforms, muddy fields, and almost freezing cold temperatures. We didn’t have the easiest path as we lost our first pool play and knew we needed to win out to advance. Our ladies rose to the task and even elevated during this tournament.”

“They advanced to the championships and made it clear that they were there for a purpose and won it all. What an amazing experience.

Fantastic achievements from our winners this month, well done to both the teams. Look out for the next set of winning teams here next month. Keep up the great work!