Kaiden Khan’s UK Trip

This story all started with Sada talking me into registering Kaiden for an FC Barcelona soccer camp in Tulsa, back in the Summer of 2018 (July 9th, 2018 - July 13th, 2018). I was against it for a variety of reasons; but ultimately, agreed as Kaiden’s favorite soccer team is FC Barcelona, and Lionel Messi being his favorite player.

A few weeks after the camp, Sada received an email indicating Kaiden was selected for a unique opportunity to go to Barcelona and train with FC Barcelona Academy coaches, play friendly matches against local youth club teams, attend a couple of LaLiga matches (including an FC Barcelona match), and enjoy local sightseeing with planned activities. Regarding the selection, we were very skeptical; but, in the end, we decided to pursue the opportunity for nothing more than the experience and memories - deciding to take the entire family. And, what an experience it was… which included seeing FC Barcelona down 2-0 to Valencia only to see Messi brought in off the bench (first game back after an injury) where he scored 2 goals (1 was a penalty kick right in front of us) to tie the match that ultimately ended 2-2!

A few weeks after returning from Barcelona, Sada received an email indicating that Kaiden had been selected from a subset of players that attended the FC Barcelona training, with the opportunity to go to the United Kingdom and train with Chelsea and Manchester City Academy coaches, play friendly matches against local youth club teams, attend a couple of English Premier League matches, and enjoy local sightseeing with planned activities. Again, we were a bit skeptical (albeit less due to our Barcelona experience); but we decided to pursue the opportunity - this time just Kaiden and I.

Originally scheduled to go to the United Kingdom in March 2020, Kaiden and I flew into New York early on a Wednesday, with a scheduled flight to London that Friday. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic travel to the United Kingdom was shut down by the United States that Thursday, and we were rerouted back to Tulsa that Friday. Since then, we’ve been patiently waiting. The trip had been rescheduled for October 2021 but, those dates were ultimately pushed as well due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, and fortunately, the trip was rescheduled for February 2022… leading us to now.

Kaiden attended all 6 scheduled training sessions in the 10 days we were in the United Kingdom, with top Academy youth coaches. The experience he gained in the sessions was invaluable - the opportunity to learn from these high caliber coaches and play with top players from other areas across the United States.

Additionally, he played in all 3 friendly matches against local Clubs where his age group went 2-0-1…

ISL (6) vs West Ham (5) - Kaiden, 2 assists

ISL (2) vs Egerton (2) - Kaiden, 1 goal

ISL (6) vs Moston (3) - Kaiden, 1 goal and 2 assists

It wasn’t all work as we had opportunities to go to 2 EPL matches, 2 stadium tours and other site seeing…

Chelsea (1) vs Crystal Palace (0)

Watford (0) vs Manchester United (0)

Etihad Stadium Tour

Old Trafford Stadium Tour

Etihad Stadium Tour

Old Trafford Stadium Tour

London City Bus Tour