Behind the Scenes; Charity Football Tournament and Sports Day

By Bailie-rae Owens

On the 14th of August Tiber X Be Free Campaign came together to hold a Charity Football Tournament and Sports day. This collaboration is in effort to bring awareness to mental health and invite the local community to a day centered around sport. There were also other activities available and food on site to keep everyone refreshed and active during the day. 

The event was held from 10:00am to 3:00pm, enough time to get some sun, fun and to support raising funds for young people. 

Behind the scenes this event has been curated by individuals such as Rushid who is a Youth development officer working behind the scenes and with young people during the event with the football tournament. Here is the interview I had with Rushid before the event;

What is your role in this event? 

My focus is on the footballing games, but on the lead up it’s on making sure everyone is having their roles. My main focus for today is on the football activities. 

What are the key elements to come in the Charity Football Tournament that showcase the goal of the event? 

Being able to invite the community to see Tiber and Be Free raising awareness for academy players and ex academy football players. Also Natasha Dowie is interviewing people and they used to be a footballer and now is a women’s football ambassador. 

Although the event is centered on sports, what other activities are there that are more involved for those less interested in sports? 

There is henna and face painting for everyone and sports day activities for people not interested in football. There is going to be the police coming down so that young people can see what they do. 

What do you think is going to be the event highlight for you?

The football activities and the tournament as I am an avid football player- as I think football can be used to help young people. 

How do events such as these raise awareness of mental health? 

When you bring the community together to engage with support and activities it raises awareness of the need for it, and have talks with the ex academy players. It brings people together and creates conversations of the support available to young people. 

What talks will be done and how does this reflect the positive impact this event is bringing to the community? 

Natasha is coming during the event which will be an insight during the event which will be an insight about injuries and about football players. What also will be interesting is the talks but the police which will be a lot more beneficial. 

How has the collaboration of Tiber and Be Free Campaign made this event possible?

The ongoing meetings between Be Free Campaign, Tiber and the youth boards have been really important,  giving young people the opportunity to help shape the event rather than simply attend it. 

What other groups have taken part in making today happen? 

Klean Kanteen has provided a lot of water bottles to keep the players cool. Flight club has provided food and games. Delta force has provided a ten hour paint ball session. Bierkeller has awarded a voucher for games, drink, and food to go to the young person who wins- they have been very supportive. 

How has this event been built to cater to everyone - such as dietary, sensory and range of activities? 

We have provided quiet quiet spaces throughout the building, food such as ice cream, and a wide range of activities including henna.

Now back to what happened at the event! There was a wide range of activities and games that were held, not only the highlight charity football tournament for 11-18 year old’s but a top scorer competition, relay races, 100m sprint, and many more football challenges and sports day activities! Also it gave young individuals a chance to win prizes that have been kindly given to Tiber X Be Free Campaign especially for this event. All games of which were overseen either by staff or volunteers to make sure they ran smoothly. 

Not only that but there was a separate area from the pitch for an opportunity to play basketball-some of the young people were also joined by the police who in a separate area taught young people more about police in general and did talks whilst people had a look around their van to see what they do. 

Catering was provided and it included a choice of vegetarian options also. This event included delicious treats like ice cream to enjoy whilst taking in the festivities and water to make sure everyone stays cool .

These festivities include not only sports but art. Bespoke small businesses were at the centre of the event, providing henna and face paint under a shaded area. Both had a wide range of styles to choose from. Another step that has been taken to create a thoughtful and joyful atmosphere for this event. 

On site there was also a quiet space available throughout the day to support anyone who needed a break. This was  held in an indoor room so that throughout the day it was quiet and whoever needed it would have the space they needed.

Additionally, everyone had the opportunity to buy a raffle ticket for £2 and could get a chance to win a selection of prizes. There also was some live entertainment-a group of singers! They came for a portion of the event and were great to hear.

Throughout the day there was Thrive media, a social media team going round shooting content and talking to individuals about the event taking interviews. Similarly on the pitch there was a photographer taking shots of the football tournament and sports day in particular. 

Later on LFC ambassador Natasha Dowie joined, who did talks, took photos and did autographs for young people to take home. This gave young people an idea into the life of a footballer from someone with direct experience from the highest level of football.