Osmani Trust’s Football In the Community (FITC) project kick started the summer holidays by holding the fifth annual Tower Hamlets Community Cup (THCC) on Saturday 31st July at Mile End Leisure Centre. Over 60 teams from across the UK came to participate in the THCC in promotion of community cohesion and celebrating diversity, the THCC was sponsored by Canary Wharf PLC.
Zakir Khan from Canary Wharf PLC said, “The THCC is a fantastic event, to see so many local young people and people from outside Tower Hamlets in one place is very encouraging and something Canary Wharf is very supportive of promoting.”
The day started with group matches in all four age groups (Under 11, 13, 14 and 16) which displayed signs of some very talented players and competitive teams leading to the knock out stages which did not let down expectations as teams fought for a place in this year’s final. Within the under 11 age group Newham based team Lotus Sports met Tower Hamlets Cannon FC which set the benchmark for the rest of the finals as the quality of passing and moving was similar to the World Champions Spain. In a tight fought match a dazzling run from one Lotus Sports defender saw him go past all the Cannon FC players to calmly slot the ball home to send the Lotus Sports fans into jubilation with a 1-0 win.
The under 13 final was between two local teams, Victoria Park United and Vallance FC, this was to be a more one sided match as Victoria Park United took an early two goals lead, Vallance FC fought back to bring the score to 2-1, however in going for the equaliser Victoria Park United grab a winning third goal. Elite Youth FC hosted MUL FC in the under 14 age group, a tight contest saw Elite Youth take the lead from a controversial penalty, this spurned on MUL FC and they railed back but Elite Youth proved to be a stern test as they eventually won the match 4-2.
Akram Khan, captain of the winning Elite Youth team said “It has been a wicked day and were so happy to be champions again, we can’t wait till next year’s tournament”
The under 16 final match was a similar game to that played earlier on the day between Newham’s Lotus Sports who had played against Tower Hamlets Cannon FC, this time Lotus Sports faced Clichy FC. In a very physical match with some fantastic goals, Clichy FC managed to bring the battle of the boroughs level with a 4-2 win.
Zubair Martin, Manager of STF from West London said, “Thanks for hosting such a well organised event again this year, it was a really good day. The environment was safe and the football was hard fought but fair, we made a lot of new friends and contacts as well. We look forward to having teams play again next year”.
Tower Hamlet’s Mayor Cllr. Motin Uz-Zaman was present to watch the finals and present awards at the presentation alongside Syed Tohel Ahmed, Chair of Osmani Trust as well as Zakir Khan of Canary Wharf PLC and Abu Mu’min, Senior Manager of Osmani Trust.
Abdal Ahmed, Football Development Manager at Osmani Trust said “I would like to thank all the teams and players for participating in this year’s tournament, more importantly the staff and volunteers involved in delivering another successful Community Cup highlighting the quality of services delivered by the FITC project.”
The overall winners and runners up of the Tower Hamlets Community Cup 2010 were as follows:
Winners
Under 11: Lotus Sports
Under 13: Victoria Park United
Under 14: Elite Youth FC
Under 16: Lotus Sports
Runners-Up
Under 11: Cannon FC
Under 13: Vallance FC
Under 14: MUL FC
Under 16: Clichy FC
If you would like more information about next year’s Tower Hamlets Community Cup, any other provisions offered by the FITC or services offered by Osmani Trust please contact Abdal Ahmed on 020 7247 8080 via abdal.ahmed@osmanitrust.org