Barnham Trojans Football Club was able to make its summer tournament one to remember thanks to the support of a local housebuilder.
Vistry South East, which is building under the Linden Homes brand at Avisford Grange in Walberton, contributed £600 to the club as part of a trophy sponsorship deal.
The housebuilder, part of the Vistry Group which includes Linden Homes, Bovis Homes and Vistry Partnerships, was the main sponsor of the competition which took place at Aldingbourne Recreation Ground in Westergate.
A total of 112 teams played across the two days, ranging from under 7s to under 14s. Players and families also enjoyed hot and cold food and drinks over the weekend.
The under 7 and under 8 age groups played in a friendly tournament with each player receiving a medal of participation. All other age groups played within a round-robin format, with the winners and runners up receiving trophies.
Matt Terry, chairman of Barnham Trojans Football Club, said: “The annual summer tournament is always our biggest fundraiser of the year and is therefore massively important to us as a club. This year was especially crucial because we haven’t been able to run one since 2019 due to the pandemic.
“These kinds of events come at a cost and, as a non-profit making club, we have to turn to the support of local companies to make these events possible.
“We are incredibly grateful to Vistry for agreeing to be our main tournament trophy sponsor. The money helped us to cover a good section of the running costs for the weekend and ultimately helped to make the tournament a huge success.”
Barnham Trojans Football Club was founded in 1976 to enable a group of local children to play the sport. In the past 45 years, the club has grown to a current membership of over 300 local children and adults from under 6 teams through to adult and veteran teams.
Ginny James, sales and marketing director for Vistry South East, said: “As soon as we received Barnham Trojans Football Club’s sponsorship request, we were keen to get involved and show our commitment to supporting this grassroots sports club.
“The tournament looked like a fantastic day, and it’s a pleasure to see the players being awarded their well-deserved trophies.”
Vistry South East is currently building 175 new homes at Avisford Grange in Walberton, comprising a mix of two, three and four-bedroom Linden Homes properties.
For more information, visit lindenhomes.co.uk.
CAPTION:
• The under 10 players at Barnham Trojans Football Club with the U10 manager Kevin Harris (back left) and chairman Matt Terry (back right) at their annual summer tournament – sponsored by Vistry South East.
