This year our annual Score against the Law tournament was bigger than ever and took place over 2 days. We fielded 10 teams in what turned out to be a really tight series of games. MyGeneration Sports had a great victory over the Kensington Dragons in a match that was touch and go right to the last minute. The Police played 2 teams and produced some really good football including the Goal of the Tournament shot by one their officers called Steve.

As the tournament gets bigger the standard of play gets better. There is a very competitive atmosphere and a lot of good local amateur league players are now joining in. The games were fast and technical, we had 20 minute games in the group stage, 35 minute games for the semis and then 35 minutes each way for the finals. The top goal scorer was MyGeneration’s Mohamed El Gourja (Boxer Mo) and the player of the match was Kirk Herbert, captain of MyGeneration. MyGeneration was the overall winner of the tournament.

The whole event was a huge success not only in terms of football but in creating an atmosphere of conviviality and comradeship between all the teams involved. It is important for our boys and all those involved to feel comfortable with the teams from the police. Football is a great way of breaking down barriers; the original idea was to mix our community and the police in a positive atmosphere as well as to bring boys together from rival areas to build up trust. This has worked so well that it has turned into an arena where good friendships are made across race, religion, gangs etc. The best thing is that in the eyes of the young people it is just a prestigious football competition.

Next year we are hoping to make this tournament even bigger.

Check out the following two videos from Score Against The Law: