A five-a-side tournament hosted by Wilmslow Leisure Centre designed as a one-off event to engage with local teenagers has proved such a success that it has become an annual event.
The Wilmslow Community Cup was sponsored by O2 Wilmslow, Cheshire Police and Premier Football Coaching. The sponsorship enabled the event to take place but needed the hard work and time offered by the organisers. The refereeing and organisation of the games was handled by volunteer members of Cheshire Police and Premier Football Coaching.
Trophy and medal presentations were made by retired Swiss International Johann Vogel, who lives locally. There were a team of police officers from Wilmslow Neighbourhood Policing Team and also one from the Cheshire Fire Service, who took on five other teams of children from the different local areas.
The final was a hard fought match between Wilmslow High Year 11's and Lacey Green, with full commitment from both sides. The final score was 10-3 to Wilmslow High School and Johann Vogel presented an award of an O2 Pay & Go mobile phone to the player of the tournament.
Cheshire Police PCSO Suzi Williams said: "The aim of the competition was to get local kids to engage with the police and fire service, and football is a good way to do this. We also hope this will boost the self esteem and confidence of the young people and promote community integration."
"We would like to thank Johann for giving up his free time and Jon Parker from O2 Wilmslow for donating £600 towards the cost of the event, Russ Burling at Premier Football Coaching for the excellent match organising and Wilmslow Police & Fire Brigade for all their hard work."
The T-shirts were designed by a local graphic designer Ant Lewis Dowell and as part of the promotion of its new teen website 'Upbeat', the Constabulary provided funding for the tournament and t-shirts for the young people taking part.
www.upbeat.uk.com, is aimed at 13-17 year olds and uses a variety of interactive videos, sound bites and online magazines as a way of conveying information and advice to the young people of Cheshire.
The site covers a variety of issues facing young people today from bullying, anti-social behaviour and drugs to personal and internet safety in a way that young people will find interesting and easy to read.
Photos: Top - Tournament Winners - Wilmslow High School Year 11’s. Middle - Tournament finalists and organisers.
