St Christopher's Cup 2008

16 October 2008

The St Christopher’s football tournament kicked off this year in the early October sunshine. For the first time in the Cup’s history, it was won by a team from a children’s home.

The 5-a-side tournament, held at Brixton’s Ferndale Sports Centre, was a league-style setup. The teams were a mixture of service users and staff representing various supported housing and children’s services.

The games started off a little later than expected, due to travel setbacks, though none of the teams let this prevent them from giving their all.

The Lewisham supported housing team, playing in grey, were the only ones to arrive early, giving themselves an hour's warm-up. This proved to be a telling factor. Lewisham won the first game by a convincing margin of 12-0!

Next up was Mean Machine – the team from Sandwell. They travelled the furthest to get to the tournament, and played some good football.

Throughout the day the competitive atmosphere was intense. All the teams gave 100 per cent effort, with support coming from friends and staff on the sidelines.

When the final whistle blew and the scores were added up, MA Squad from one of St Christopher’s London children’s homes became the first ever children’s home to take home the St Christopher’s Cup; a popular and well-deserved victory.

Special mention must go to Mean Machine for travelling the furthest, to the referees for the day, Dave Glanville, Dennis Scotland and Vanessa Bell, and to Lara, Sophia & Mark Reeves for their assistance on the day.

Thanks are also due to all the dedicated staff and their families who brought service users along.

Well done MA Squad!