A FOOTBALL team from Reading rubbed shoulders with an England legend and Man U’s latest gaffer at a special tournament for homeless people.
Organised by The Salvation Army, the event saw a team from The Lifehouse at Reading compete against 20 other five-a-side teams from hostals across the country.
Sadly, the honours weren’t brought back to Berkshire – the winning team was Blue Nile from The Salvation Army’s Refugee Resettlement Service in the Northwest.
Giving them tips for the pitch was former England captain Terry Butcher, who led a passing skills workshop.
He also gave a speech about his experience of tackling depression after he lost his son to suicide.
“This tournament is a great way of bringing good sportsmanship, good behaviour and good football together and the most important thing for everyone that took part was to enjoy it,” he said.
“The challenges that all of the players have overcome, and are still overcoming, is testament to their hard work and commitment to being the best that they can be.
“I know from my own experience that having people you can turn to is a huge help and The Salvation Army is a perfect example of how getting the right support can go a long way towards rebuilding lives.
“Fighting power was evident at the tournament from all teams, and you need that in life, never mind on the football pitch. Everyone should be proud of themselves and what they are overcoming every day.”
Along with Mr Butcher, the tournament was also supported by the Guardiola Sala Foundation (GSF), a humanitarian charity set up by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and his family, who attended the event in 2019 and donated items to the players and supported travelling expenses to enable teams to attend from across the UK.
GSF also arranged for Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag, to attend the event to cheer on the players and watch some of the matches.
He said: “It was fantastic to attend the event in Manchester with The Salvation Army. The organisation does great work in supporting homeless people to rebuild their lives.
“Homelessness is a difficult problem and anything I can do to raise awareness by coming to events like this is important. It was great to see everyone playing football together, showing energy, spirit and teamwork to promote wellbeing.”
The Salvation Army run two buildings in Reading – Willow House and Shepton House. They accommodate and support homeless people and provide assistance in maintaining tenancy agreements when people move out of supported accommodation.
The church also believes in helping its residents tackle the underlying reasons why they became homeless, such as addiction or mental health problems, to stop them becoming trapped in a cycle of rough-sleeping and temporary accommodation.
Salvation Army regional manager for Homelessness services, Nathan Slinn said: “Our annual Partnership Trophy celebrates those we support through our homelessness services and all that they have overcome and, indeed the journey that they are still on.
“The tournament was a wonderful example of everyone working together to build on their experiences whilst boosting mental and physical health and social skills. Our team in Reading thoroughly enjoyed it and there is excitement for next year’s event.
“We’re thrilled that both Erik ten Hag and Terry Butcher could join us for the day and that they, along with Guardiola Sala Foundation, have supported us at this year’s event and I send our heartfelt thanks to them all.
“It’s encouraging for our service users to see people giving up their time, not to mention a real boost to their self-esteem and confidence, seeing that they’re on the right path and there is hope for the future.”
