Published on:
06
June 2012
Alloa Rugby Club was the venue on Friday 1st June 2012 when over 1000 children from all over Clackmannanshire enjoyed a superb day out taking part in the annual Football For All Festival.
Fantastic entries saw around 120 nursery children attend throughout the day, 7 teams enter the Disability section, 46 teams in the Tesco Bank P2/3 section, an amazing 52 teams in the P4/5 Fun Four's section and 22 teams enter the Soccer 7's event.
Participants were entered through schools, nurseries or day centres.
Councillor Ellen Forson, Convener of Clackmannanshire Council Education, Sport and Leisure, said: "This is the pinnacle of the year's football festivals in Clackmannanshire.
"It is something which has been going now for 12 years and this year we believe it was bigger and better than ever before with the event focussing on fun and enjoyment for everyone either taking part or just watching."
The whole day comprised a variety of events and activities for different age groups. The Festival comprised a Toddler Soccer Active Start (Pre-School), with coaching available throughout the day for the pre-fives group.
At the same time the Tesco Bank Festival was also taking place for children in the P2/P3 categories, as was the Primary School Fair Play Festival for P4 through to the P7 age groups.
In a busy morning session the Forth Valley Disability Fair Play Festival was also held, including the adults/secondary soccer sevens event and the Additional Support Needs (ASN) Primary Fun Fours Event, continuing into the afternoon.
The whole event was organised by Clackmannanshire Council's Football Development Officer, Graeme Henderson, along with Jean Duncan the council's ASN and Disability Section, and Jackie Stevenson, who took charge of arranging the Pre-School Section.
As well as the football, a host of other activities were held throughout the day with music and on the spot prizes for primary school age children. There were also a range of Olympic based activities for the children to try out as well as bowling, target games, beat the goalie, boccia and the traditional bouncy castle.
Provost Tina Murphy and Deputy Provost, Councillor Irene Hamilton, both went along to enjoy the fun and lend their support, as well as present the many prizes and certificates handed out at the end of the Festival.
In the Disability section, medal winners were as follows:
Band C
3rd place - Carrongrange B and Carrongrange C
2nd place - Carrongrange A
1st place - Stirling City All Stars A
Band D
3rd place - Stirling City All Stars B
2nd place - Bainsford
1st place - Centre Space
Stirling City All Stars A with 16 points were also awarded the Umbro Cup for the team with the highest points.
The primary school children scored points for fair play, showing good sportsmanship, encouragement, team spirit and good conduct. The top 4 teams winning points received Scottish FA water bottles, with the top place team also receiving complimentary tickets to the Women's First Division Cup Final.
Results from Fair Play points
P2/3 Tesco bank section
1st place - St. Mungo's A
2nd place - Clackmannan B
3rd place - Park c
P4/5 Fun 4's
1st place - Muckhart B
2nd place - Menstrie A
3rd place - Claremont A
P6/7 Soccer 7's
1st place - Park E
2nd place - St. Mungo's B
3rd place - St. Mungo's A
Graeme Henderson, SFA Football Development Officer for Clackmannanshire Council said: "It was great to see so many children of all ages playing football, hopefully this will be the start for many young footballers. It was fantastic to have local player, Darren Young of Alloa Athletic and four female Scotland International Players along to speak with the children."
Thanks were paid to all the school staff, children and schools for coming along, as well as Central Sporting Partnership, Scottish FA, Forth Valley Disability Sport, Scotland International Players, Alloa Athletic FC and all the sponsors.