Published on:
11
June 2013
Footballers of all ages descended on Alloa Rugby Club on Friday to take part in the annual Clackmannanshire Football Festival.
During the day over 800 able bodied and disabled toddlers and primary school children participated in a wide range of footballing activities and matches.
All the Primary PE teachers, football coaches, Active Schools Co-ordinators and pre-school coaches have been working with toddlers and primary pupils all year to develop their skills -and this day was the culmination of this effort.
All participants were encouraged to join a local football team to continue playing, with the possibility of achieving a career in football.
One of the most encouraging facts from Friday's festival was that there was a record numbers of participants in the toddlers, P4/5, P6/7 and disability sections.
Fair Play prizes and medals were awarded for the primary school teams who were thought to have played in the correct spirit of the game. Prizes included water bottles, posters, footballs and signed memorabilia from the Scotland's Woman's National Team, all of which were presented by Provost Tina Murphy and Alan Milliken, Assistant Head of Education.
The schools which received these awards were Primary 4/5 Fun Fours: 3rd Sunnyside, 2nd Abercromby, 1st Park C and Primary 6/7 Soccer Sevens: 3rd Muckhart B, 2nd Claremont C, 1st St John's.
A record number of teams from across Forth Valley competed within the disability section of the Festival with the section 1 results being: 1st Centre Space; 2nd Key Housing; and 3rd Lornshill Academy ASN. Carrongrange Purples were the winners of section 2 and the Umbro Cup with Stirling City Red and Stirling City Blue finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Provost Murphy said: "Friday was a fantastic day and it was extremely pleasing to see so many local young footballers participating and enjoying the sport.
"I hope that whether this is their first experience playing the game or if they have played for some considerable time that they have enjoyed themselves in the sunshine and will continue to play for many, many years to come.
"I'm sure all these children would dream of being a footballer and who knows one of these children may even go on to represent Alloa Athletic, the Scotland Men's team or the Scotland's Woman's Team. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who were involved in organising this event and our sponsors."
The Clackmannanshire Primary Schools Sports (CPSSA) Awards were also presented on the day which recognise the attendance of local primary schools across a variety of sports and events hosted by Clackmannanshire Council's Sports Development Department.
The Sports Challenge Award, which is given to the primary school which attends the most events was shared by the following schools who attended all 15 events across nine sports - Abercromby, Muckhart, Park, St John's, St Mungo's, Strathdevon and Sunnyside Primary Schools.
The Sports Challenge Award (Small School Award) was shared by Muckhart and St Mungo's Primary Schools.
Provost Murphy added: "Both of these awards underline the fantastic commitment to sport from local primary schools. The future of sport in Clackmannanshire certainly looks bright."