O n Friday, September 16th, 2022 PAFS Ireland Ltd, the Irish arm of the Phoenix American aviation ABS group, recently participated in a Cancer Clinical Research Trust (CCRT) charity soccer tournament hosted by Carlyle Aviation Partners. The tournament was held in Dublin, two hours from our office in Shannon in the west of Ireland. Although there is no word on how much the soccer tournament has raised this year, it historically has raised over €175k to benefit breast cancer research.
The tournament was very well attended with 32 teams from across the aircraft leasing sector competing. We drew a tough group including AerCap (the world’s largest aircraft lessor), and Canyon CTS and Maples (both competitors in our business line). Our first game was against AerCap which we drew 3-3 in an intense battle. We scored two comprehensive wins after that over our two biggest business competitors, beating Canyon 1-0 and Maples 4-0.
Due to the tight timeframe of the tournament, only one team from each group could progress to the quarter finals (there were 8 groups of 4 teams). Progression to the next round came down to Phoenix American and AerCap, both having won all their matches. Having scored one more goal than us overall, AerCap progressed. They went on to win the tournament over Genesis. Phoenix American emerged from the tournament undefeated if not victorious
We retired to the bar to toast our many great performances. The team acquitted itself impressively and was considered one of the best teams to participate on the day.
‘Well done’ to all involved. A special shout out to Darren O’Sullivan who not only organized the company’s involvement but was also the top scorer on the day. We are already looking forward to next year and going even further!
Back row (L-R): Daniel O’Connor, Cathal Cummane, Diarmaid O’Donoghue, David Frawley, Darren O’Sullivan, Robert Cassidy, Colm McInerney
Front row (L-R): Paul Kelly, Ciara Torpey, Emma Stewart, Sinead Gallagher, Mairead Kelly
