Sean L. (‘25, he/him) recently joined the Chinese Taipei Football team to play in the 2023 Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) qualifying tournament. Sean was also on this year’s varsity soccer team but had to opt out of traveling for the Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian School (IASAS) competition to play in the AFC tournament. 

For the AFC tournament, Sean traveled to both Malaysia and Vietnam to compete against teams from Vietnam, Thailand and Nepal. 

The U-17 Taiwan team, which consists of players under the age of 17, ended with one win and two losses, placing third overall. As this is Sean’s first year on the Taiwan team, he hopes to continue to improve and grow as a player with his teammates. 

“I’ve never played in international games,” Sean said. “I normally just play in Taiwan so this is a big step for me.” 

Sean was recruited by scouts from tournaments such as the Asian Qualifiers Club, which invites local teams to compete in tournament-style matches. Scouts from the national team watch the games and extend offers to promising players. He has been training with the national team for over a year and will continue playing for Taiwan.

“I love playing with Sean as I already have played with him for several years outside school,” Daniel T. (‘24), one of Sean’s varsity teammates, said. “He is a great player and I love his desire to win which makes me excited to play with him in the future.”

Looking forward, Sean also hopes to continue playing soccer at TAS. If given the choice between IASAS and his national team’s tournament, he would still make the same choice to play for the national team. 

“Despite having to leave school for such a long time. I still feel like it was a really good choice for me,” Sean said. 

Matthew K. (‘25), one of Sean’s varsity teammates, greatly admires his leadership and determination. “I look forward to Sean being captain of the varsity squad during his senior year at TAS and leading [us] to another gold medal at IASAS,” he said.

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