On 18 November, we welcomed friends from Coolmine Recovery in Dublin, Victory Outreach in Liverpool and Liverpool Homeless Football Club for a brilliant day of football, connection and community on the Wirral. Coolmine even flew over in the morning and headed back home the same evening, which shows the level of commitment and enthusiasm behind the day.
The plan had been to play at Prenton Park’s indoor pitch, the home of Wirral Ways Football, although the heavy rain meant the roof began to leak. With minutes to spare, Birkenhead Youth Club stepped in and kindly offered the use of their astro turf pitch so the Wirral Ways Inclusion Cup sponsored by DownMac Electrical could go ahead as planned.
We were joined by two Wirral Ways teams and referee Hayden from Tranmere Rovers in the Community, who not only refereed but also managed to play a game. The energy on the pitch was fantastic. Everyone arrived with a positive attitude and the atmosphere across the whole event felt warm, supportive and full of encouragement.
Ray Smith, Wirral Ways Outreach Worker, summed the day up perfectly:
“The attitude and application of everyone in attendance was fantastic. The spirit was amazing. At the final whistle, Coolmine Recovery came out on top and were worthy winners of the inaugural Wirral Ways Inclusion Cup sponsored by DownMac Electrical.”
After the matches, we headed back to Nightingales Café for some well earned food and an informal awards ceremony. Huge thanks go to Nikki Heywood and the team, who looked after everyone with plates of homemade scouse and sausage rolls. Coolmine were presented with the winner’s trophy and every participant received a medal to celebrate the occasion.
The day was full of friendship, teamwork and plenty of laughter. It was a pleasure to welcome our visitors and we are already looking forward to making the Wirral Ways Inclusion Cup an annual event.
Thank you to everyone who made it such a success.
