Local grassroots football teams come together for Play On The Pitch Tournament 2022

By Jessica Durston - 23 May 2022

Clubs & ActivitiesSport

The STFC Community Foundation welcomed 60 local grassroots teams for its first six-a-side football festival in over three years, on the County Ground pitch.

Some images from the weekend

STFC Community Foundation said it had a fantastic weekend, in which it welcomed a total of 24 grassroots football clubs, with around 132 matches being played over the course of the weekend (21 - 22 May).

This tournament saw local youngsters from the ages of under 7’s to under 12’s, put their skills to the test in a weekend of football fun.

The proceeds of the annual Six-a-Side Festival of Football will go towards the STFC Community Foundation's various Zambia projects, which it says will be especially needed after the challenges of the past two years.

With the proceeds going towards Zambia based projects, the Foundation's agreement with the Town of Livingstone, (Zambia) has seen the Foundation's team deliver a Coaching Education Programme and a Youth Tournament, whilst engaging and delivering sessions in local schools and communities. 

A spokesperson from the STFC Community Foundation said: "We’ve been proud to install solar lighting in local schools, giving children the ability to study for longer hours during the day, and we’ve also had the opportunity to deliver disability coaching projects, with the opportunity of coaching, match experience, and refereeing tutoring for young referees."

During the Foundation's time in Zambia, its coaching team have worked with hundreds of youngsters and Zambia Association Coaches, with the word of Swindon Town Football Club being spread far and wide.

Head of Foundation, Jon Holloway said: "We were delighted to finally have our annual football festival back, after a tough couple of years for everyone, it was amazing to see all of the Counties local grassroots teams coming together for a great weekend of football, while also being a fantastic opportunity for young players to play on the County Ground’s state of the art football pitch.

"On top of this, we’re also thrilled to announce that all raised funds from the Festival, will be utilised for our community-based projects in Zambia, while also helping to develop the beautiful game in that part of Africa."

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