Brentford FC Community Sports Trust welcomed more than 100 teams to compete for silverware in the inaugural Gunnersbury Cup competition earlier this month. The football tournament made use of the new facility at Gunnersbury Park Sports Hub, which houses two floodlit 3G 11-a-side astro-turf pitches. The hub is a collaboration between Ealing and Hounslow Councils and involves our Trust, University of West London, the London International School, and local leisure provider Better.

Day one was all about the girls featuring three competitions for the age groups 11s/12s, 13s/14s and 15s/16s. Dependent on the age groups some competitions featured a group stage, and then knockouts which culminated in a final whereas other featured a plate alongside the main trophy competition. All competitions had teams competing for our bespoke Gunnersbury Cup medals and trophies which featured the Gunnersbury Cup logo.

Amber Lloyd, the Trust's female football development coordinator said: “It was fantastic to welcome all these girls’ teams to Gunnersbury Park; the talent on show has been immense and the day has been extremely competitive. Next year we will look to increase the number of teams taking part."

FF Stars U15/16 manager Peter Singh commended the tournament and said: “The boys were really happy the afternoon of football kept flowing despite the poor weather conditions. The tournament was extremely well run and we can’t wait to return next year in the hopes of retaining our title!”

Jamie Tompkins, Head of Football Development at the Trust and tournament organiser, said: “With this being the first-ever Gunnersbury Cup and the nation just returning to some sort of normality we were unsure on how successful the tournament would be. To see over 100 teams, compete just shows how powerful football can be in bringing people back together. I would like to thank all the coaches and players for taking part and I was extremely happy to offer every team that took part in this year’s tournament a free place for next year!”

See more on the Trust website here.