Five years ago, in November 2003, Scotty Stacey played in the then Hanoi Swans historical first tournament, against Thailand and Hong Kong.

Tomorrow in Phnom Penh Scotty will again play Thailand, as well as Lao and Cambodia, for the Vietnam Swans. However, this will be his last match. Scotty returns to Australia on 15 January after 17 years in Asia – the last 8 in Vietnam.

When it comes to footy in Vietnam, they don’t get any bigger than the “Little Guy”. He was pivotal in resurrecting footy in Hanoi. He was pivotal in resurrecting footy in Saigon and forging a national footy team. Vietnam played in our our first Asian Championships last year with a few blokes from Lao and one guy from Cambodia to boost our numbers. The blokes from Lao have gone on to build their own active footy club, the Lao Elephants (Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!). The guy from Cambodia, Eggo, has scraped together a team called the Cambodian Kangas which will host the Indochina Cup this weekend.

On the field, the Little Guy’s a goal sneak in the forward pocket. Off the field, he has been the Saigon President and our Super Savvy Coach. He’s also the man to organise everything else that everybody else wouldn’t have a clue about. AFL goal posts, for example!

The Vietnam Swans will travel by bus to Cambodia late this afternoon for tomorrow’s Indochina Cup. It will be a great weekend of footy action and a fitting opportunity to salute the Little Guy.

As the Vietnam Swans have to pay registration fees and medical insurance for this tournament, it is timely to again acknowledge the support we have received from our generous sponsors during the previous 12 months:

• Linfox
• Loscam Pallets
• Jim Beam
• Blue Ink Asia
• Bobby Brewers Coffee (400 Le Van Sy Street, District 3)
• Renow.com.vn – Real Estate Search 
• Pest Free
• LaVie Water
• Fosters
• No. 5 Bar
• JVK Asia

Honk yer horn if you love the footy!