Fundraising through Football

The event, which was organised by Corporate Manager Jimmy Moutray, was held at Goals Soccer Centre in Speke, Liverpool.

Businesses from across the Liverpool City Region came together for the event’s inaugural outing this September, forming teams to compete in a league-style competition for the coveted Corporate Football Cup trophy. Businesses involved included; Sharp UK, Halcyon IT, Markland Hill Wealth, The Halyard Liverpool, Vignette Collection, ACC Liverpool and Roberts Recycling.

Joining the players on the day was Olympic boxer and motivational speaker Natasha Jonas, who took on the role of goalkeeper for one of the teams. Also in attendance was Blackpool FC player Maddox Jonas, who got stuck in despite having a game of his own the following day. Markland Hill Wealth employee and former professional under 17s footballer, Curtis Anderson also volunteered his skills for a special beat-the-keeper competition to raise the stakes in a tense penalty shoot-out.

A huge congratulations to the winning team Sharp UK, who finished 3-1 against runners-up Halcyon IT. Along with the five other teams they managed to raise an impressive £2.5k.

James Hamilton, from second place team Halcyon IT, rallied his social media friends and followers for support after the event, saying: “What a day we have had at the North West Cancer Research football competition! It was fiercely competitive and we’re proud to have come runner-up, losing 3-1 in the final to the Sharp team - their keeper got player of the tournament so that sums it up! There were two dodgy penalties that had everyone screaming but all in all, it was just a great day.

“A huge thank you to Jimmy and his team for putting on an unbelievable day. The Charity is amazing and supporting events like this means so much to them - the work that they’re doing is in the North West, right here in our area. With my own cancer journey, if it were not for the medications available and research they’re doing, the reality is that I might not be here today, so it means a lot to me and my family.”

Corporate Fundraising Manager Jimmy said: “I couldn’t be happier with how the tournament went. It’s great to get out and do something fun and a bit different with like-minded people while raising what we can for the life-saving research the Charity funds. I even strapped up my footy boots myself to join the Roberts Recycling team in goal, but having not played in ten years I was a little rusty and we conceded five in the final game for an early shower, which I was definitely feeling the next day!

“I would like to thank every business that got involved, put a team together and really gave it their all, as well all their supporters who donated toward their sponsorship pages and the Goals team for helping the event run so smoothly. Every penny donated toward this event is helping us to address the cancer needs of our region for years to come.”