Martin C. Barry
A team of federal and provincial elected officials from the Laval region defeated a team of elected officials from the City of Laval by a score of 6 – 4 in a soccer match played last Sunday on the grounds behind the CSDL’s Centre de formation Compétences 2000 as part of the Laval International Soccer Cup.
The city team was led by Mayor Marc Demers and included city councillors David De Cotis, Paolo Galati (and his daughter), Isabella Tassoni, Sandra El-Hélou, Aline Dib (and her daughter), Sandra Desmeules, Virginie Dufour, Ray Khalil and Éric Morasse.
Who played?
The federal/provincial team included Laval-des-Rapides MNA Saul Polo and some of his attachés, Fabre MNA Monique Sauvé and staff members, Vimy MP Eva Nassif and members of her staff, and Laval-les-Îles MP Fayçal El-Khoury and some of his staff.
“It’s good to be out on the field today,” said El-Khoury, predicting correctly before the match that the federal/provincial team would do well. “My team is here with me and we are going to do our best in order to score – and we will.”
For school perseverance
Mayor Marc Demers pointed out that the match was held for the benefit of school perseverance. “It’s for our children,” he said. “The elected people are getting together to play a match for fun and to set a positive example for our young people.”
Although she wasn’t active on the field, Chomedey city councillor Aglaia Revelakis cheered her teammates on from the sidelines. “I came here to support my colleagues, as well as my friends from the federal and provincial levels,” she said, hoping that the municipal officials would win.
Third year for match
Mongi Zitouni, president of the Laval International Soccer Cup, noted this was the third year since the tournament’s organizers first decided to stage a special soccer match bringing together Laval’s elected representatives.
As is often the case with sports events involving politicians, friendly rivalries sometimes come up. “Last year it ended in a draw, and the year before it was the provincial/federal team that won,” said Polo, suggesting that the municipal team was hungry for a victory this time around. “I think De Cotis really wants to win,” he said. Following the match, De Cotis noted it was all for a good cause.
Imported soccer talent
However, being a highly competitive sportsman (he also plays in other events each year involving elected officials, including hockey), De Cotis maintained the odds were stacked against the city councillors.
He suggested the federal/provincial team included a number of players with a great deal more experience at soccer than their municipal counterparts. “They got players from all different parts of the world playing for them,” he said. “And they’ve done this three years in a row.”
