Wheaton Thunder football team travels to Portugal for a competition, service and more (Updated 5/19)

Wheaton, Ill. - The Wheaton College football team departed for Lisbon, Portugal on Wednesday for an 11-day international trip. The excursion marks the first international trip for the Wheaton football team with a competition, marking a difference from the teams decades-long WFMP trips. On Saturday, May 17, the Thunder will face the Portugal Select Team at Estadio Manuel Marques Torres.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Please check back to this web page throughout the week of the trip for updates from Wheaton sophomore Malachi Williams.

First Update (Posted on 5/17): Travel Day --- Day 1 --- Day 2

Second Update (Posted on 5/18): Day 3 (Gameday)

Third Update (Posted on 5/19): Day 4 --- Day 5

FIRST UPDATE FROM SOPHOMORE MALACHI WILLIAMS

Portugal Travel Day

Early in the morning, it's 8 AM in Wheaton, and we are in meetings, listening and preparing for our game against the Portugal All-Star team. Throughout this past week, we have grown stronger in our preparations. We step onto the field at 9 AM, full of energy and high morale. You can feel the excitement radiating off the team as we move around and work towards our goals.

After a great walkthrough practice, we finalize our plans to head to Portugal. A few hours later, we gather in Chrouser, pack our bags onto the bus, and drive to O'Hare Airport. The excitement builds as we stand in line showing our passports and navigating through TSA. Once we get through the airport hustle, we make our way to our gate, gathering a few last-minute items before boarding the plane.

As we await our departure, each boarding group is called, and we finally board the plane! It will be an 8-hour flight. Our rowdy group settles down with movies and sleep as we get ready to discover what awaits us when we touch down in Lisbon.

Day 1

We have landed in LISBON! We are grateful that we made it safely. Lisbon, how beautiful! We just got to walk around and see some amazing sights and major attractions. The food is amazing—just wonderful. We are full of excitement and high energy as we prepare for the Saturday game. One step at a time, living in the moment!

Getting back on the field is a privilege. We got to meet the people behind this great trip who have been working diligently for two years to plan this out. Working alongside Coach Scott and Coach Peltz. We met with Patrick Screenbridge from Global Football, José, and Pedro. Special thanks to Pedro, he is the lead for Federal Portuguese of American football and was a major help in the organization of this trip. José is a coach for one of the teams, and he is coaching for the all-star game. These are guys that chose to play football when they have real life responsibilities (jobs, school, family) to take care of. They buy there own equipment and they choose to play football.

Roll Thunder!

Day 2:

It's our second day in Lisbon! This morning, we spent some time at the beach and participated in team-building activities like paddleboarding and backflipping. Now, we are heading to the Carlucci American International School of Lisbon to conduct a football clinic. The clinic is led by our team, and we have divided the students into groups based on their grade levels: elementary, middle, and high school. During the clinic, we taught them various skills, including tackling and one-on-one play. A special thanks to Nate Chapman for inviting us to the school and giving us the opportunity to spend time with the children and share our knowledge.

We had our final practice before tomorrow's game, and we feel prepared and ready for kickoff in the morning!

SECOND UPDATE FROM SOPHOMORE MALACHI WILLIAMS

Gameday

It's game time! We are ready to play, and the game is being held in a soccer stadium at Parque de Higos, Manuel Marqués. We were invited to lunch and watched a local flag football team play before our game! The atmosphere is exciting and invigorating as we see football being played. With sunny weather and clear skies, it's a great day for some football!

We ended up participating in the flag football games with some of the local teams. Soon, it was time for us to put on our helmets and pads to get ready for the first Portuguese-American football game. An hour later, we were warmed up and prepared as we walked out with an American flag, listening to the national anthem play.

We were eager to start playing! As is customary, we greeted our opponents before kicking off to begin the game. Our defense started explosively, forcing a three-and-out and getting our offense on the field early. As the game progressed, we scored several times, ultimately leading to a final score of 54-0.

We feel very blessed to have had this opportunity to play the wonderful game that we love. Thank you, Portugal, for welcoming us and allowing us to play American football!

THIRD UPDATE FROM SOPHOMORE MALACHI WILLIAMS

Day 4

On Sunday, we had a restful evening. We began our day by taking a boat tour along the coast of Portugal. After exploring the city, we attended an afternoon service led by Pedro, the head of the Portuguese American Football federation. We also had the opportunity to meet his pastor and worship with the congregation. We are grateful to Pedro for inviting us to his church.

Day 5

On Monday morning, we started our day with devotionals, broken up into our different classes. Afterward, we headed off to our first work project. Today, we painted an auditorium and landscaped an entire trail. We completed our tasks in record time and even had the chance to enjoy some futsal and basketball. It was a great day of work! We are excited and ready for more!

Originally published by Wheaton College Athletics: /news/2025/5/17/football-wheaton-thunder-football-team-travels-to-portugal-for-a-compeition-in-service-projects-in-international-trip.aspx