Asfordby FC stages county’s biggest festival of football

The 12th annual edition of the summer tournament attracted an amazing 132 teams from across the East Midlands to the village club.

The event saw more than 1,000 young players aged from six to 13 take part in what has become the county’s largest junior football tournament.

The organiser, and club chairman, Simon Atherley, said: “It takes a huge amount of work from our dedicated volunteers to put the tournament on and in some regards we have become a victim of our own success.

“The number of teams who want to come now outweighs what we can comfortably accommodate.

“The feedback we have had has been amazing – we have even had one team offer to pay already for next year.

“I would like to say a massive thank-you to all the coaches, managers, parents and volunteers who gave up their time to put on an event that we can be proud of.” Four age groups competitions were played to a conclusion on both Saturday and Sunday, with the under 6s and 7s playing five-a-side mini soccer, under 7s and 8s playing seven-a-side, and the rest playing nine-a-side tournaments.

Winning teams over the weekend included Heather St Johns, Kirby 88’s, Saffron Dynamo, Chesapeak and Mountsorrel.