We wish you a warm welcome to the Netherlands and the fourteenth edition of the Amsterdam Fives since our debut in the Dutch capital back in July 2008.

This tournament was a hugely successful one for English teams with victories from 2008-2011. Since then, we had a period of Dutch success from 2012-2016. England returned to winning ways with BSP FC (2017), Melee FC (2018) and Epsilon Rovers (2019). FC Kicks of the Netherlands won in 2022 before Foot 130 of France became the first team outside of the UK & Netherlands to win the title despite many nations having competed in the event down the years.

The first two challengers to get us underway in Group A on Pitch 1 this year would be Argon'ze A (Fra) versus Jamaica Bell (Eng). If Argon'ze A could build upon Foot 130's success last year maybe they could start a period of French domination in this event.

Jamaica Bell were making their debut in our events and they made a good impression in a competitive and tight opening period. The first-half finished level at 0-0. After the change of ends it was Jamaica Bell who broke the deadlock with Leo Thom on target. Sam Jackson doubled the advantage before Leo Thom claimed his second of the game and sealed the three points for his team. Jamaica Bell were making this eurofootballfives.com lark look easy.

The next two teams to take the field in Group A were Shaheens United (Ned) and Tilbury Doulgas (Eng). The latter were making their first appearance with us so had a blank canvas upon which to paint their footballing artistry.

Shaheens United FC competed at the 2023 Amsterdam Sixes and made the best possible debut by winning the title. They were called Summerhouse then but return as Shaheens United FC. Last year they got off to the perfect start with a 3-1 win over FC Maroon and 2-1 win over Fog Lane Albion before sweeping Scunthadam aside, 5-1. Another 5-1 win followed over E-Block Europe before their 100% record was broken by The Shepherd's Arms, 3-2. They had still done enough to win the group and met FLA in the Cup Semi-Final. A 2-0 win saw them into a debut final where they met The Shepherd's Arms again. An equally tight match but without the goals this time saw the sides locked at 0-0 at the final whistle. A penalty shoot-out would decide the title and Summerhouse emerged victorious, 2-0.

The local side were on the back foot early doors though as Tilbury Douglas opened their account with a goal from Sonny Richardson. Ben Ord also got on the scoresheet as he put Tilbury Doulgas 2-0 up and on course for victory at half-time. It was looking like it could be the proverbial game of two halves as Shaheens United hit back after the interval. Leroy Cheng reduced the deficit to 2-1 before Omar Shoaib levelled the match at 2-2. Having been pegged back, Tilbury Douglas did well to regain their lead with Sonny Richardson making it 3-2. Shaheens United were not to be beaten though as Umar Mohammed scored a second equaliser for his team and earned his team a share of the points. Final score, 3-3.