Five teams were entered into the group stages, with the top two qualifying for the final. Swamibapa FC U11's topped the group with the strongest defence line-up, followed by Kingsbury Sports Club, whom dazzled the crowd firing in 13 goals in the group stage. These two were the teams on form at the round robin stage, as both coped under pressure and qualified for the finals. The other three teams finishing third, fourth and fifth were BYC Abacus, Om Warriors and BYC Under 11’s respectively. The final itself was a tense affair with only a goal separating the teams, scored by Ram for the Kingsbury Sports Club, crowning them the champions of 2010.

The Under 11’s showed great prospects for the future with many young stars catching my eye. Parents and players both provided positive and negative feedback for this fairly new category and next year we hope to have even more youngster taking part in this event.

This year 12 teams entering meaning we had to change the structure around and created 3 groups, with the winning team of each group through to the semi-finals and the best runner up given a wild card through to the Semi-Finals. The team who went through to the next round were BYC Vinci, Kingsbury Sports Club A, Premiere Eurocom and Asian All stars picking up that final wild card through to the next stage.

In the Semi-Finals underdogs Asian Allstars nearly gave BYC Vinci a scare with a tough game with the All-stars’ defense holding well throughout the game, but it was a moment of brilliance with gave lasts years winners victory and through to the final again.

The final was between BYC Vinci and Kingsbury Sports Club A which was a mouth watering match as both teams in the group stages played very openly allowing both teams to show attacking play and this continued in the final with all out attacking play form both teams, meaning defenses exposed and goalkeepers making a number of saves to keep their teams in contention. However it was endurance that split the teams apart as tiring players from Kingsbury Sports Clubs’ defense allowed BYC Vinci to slot 3 past their goalkeeper. However Kingsbury did have a reply but to no avail as BYC Vinci were once again crowed the Under 16 Champions with an emphatic 3-1 victory.

The men’s group stages this year was goals goals galore, with a whooping 91 goals scored. Reigning champions AVI Contracts went through as the winners of their group unbeaten, alongside last years opponents Kenford Builders, who also went through unbeaten. Other teams through to the quarter finals included; Futton United, Euroken X, Flash FC, Bolton Originals A, Sliver Dragons and B Y C LAXCON A.

The tie of the 3rd round was the fiery encounter between the Silver Dragons and Bolton Originals A. The game was played in fast and slick fashion, though at times passion and drive led to fouls after fouls hindering the initial entertaining football as the referee had to stop play at times. Nevertheless the game ended with a dramatic 3-2 win for Bolton Originals A.

The semi-final draw came out with anticipation of cracking ties no matter who met each other after lunch, as this year teams attacking play was as good as ever. Euroken X and Bolton Original unfortunately faced tough draws with past champions and could not cause an upset.

This year’s men’s final saw two teams who have met for the last three consecutive finals, between Kenford Builders and AVI Contracts defending their crown in their sixth consecutive final. The final was not the epic that we all wanted or that we saw last year, but nevertheless it did not disappoint in being a true spectacle. Kenford Builders showed good skill and endurance to score two past the unusually weary AVI Contracts team this year. The two brilliant goals were scored by Ravi of Kenford Builders, in between skillful intricate passing leading to composure to direct it into goal. My two men of the match were AVI Contract’s Jay and Kenford Builders’ Ravi, who both played very well and created chance after chance for their teams.

The five teams that had entered were Kinsgbury, Dahisara Hot Shots, Bendev Seniors, B Y C Meera Village and NYW. All teams played each other once, with the top two with the most points going through to the finals.

The teams that emerged deserving their places in the finals were Kingsbury and Bendev Seniors. They both played with the same passion as the days in their youth and this was a regular final in the main category when these teams were in their prime. After a well fought battle, with both sides trying to squeeze out last ounces of energy, Kingsbury beat Bendev Seniors 2-0, naming them the over 35’s champions.

The growing talent in the ladies tournament was on show once again. The skill is becoming impressive year on year and this year it didn’t disappoint.

Group A was made up of reigning champions Swaminarayan Gadi FC ‘A’ (SGFC ‘A’), Bhuva Construction, KMK Sports Ladies and Naranpur Youth Wing ‘B’. (NYW ‘B’). Both the seeded teams, SGFC ‘A’ and Bhuva Construction, went through unbeaten with 7 points apiece giving them great confidence going into their semi-final games.

Last year’s semi-finalist Naranpur Youth Wing ‘A’ (NYW ‘A’) and Swamibapa FC were grouped together along with Swaminarayan Gadi FC ‘B’ (SGFC ‘B’) and Bend It Like Beckham in Group B. Unlike the first group, this one provided a shock qualifier. The climax of the group was timely, as the final group standings heavily reliant on the last game between NYW ‘A’ and SGFC ‘B’. Swamibapa FC were the team sweating on the outcome of this match as they needed any team to win. However both the teams taking part in the game knew that a draw would see them both through, so the match petered to a 0-0.

The first semi-final saw the Swaminarayan Gadi FC teams up against each other. The top seed SGFC ‘A’ proved to be the superior as they went on to win the match 2-1 leaving the SGFC ‘B’ with a sense of satisfaction as the score line suggested a good contest.
The second semi-final was contested between NYW ‘A’ and Bhuva construction. NYW ‘A’ were adamant on getting to the finals for the first time. However Bhuva construction weren’t going to be toppled easily. The ball ending up in the net after a long range effort from ‘Beanz’, left NYW ‘A’ facing defeat. But sheena gave them hope with a superb solo run and finish, reigniting the hope of NYW ‘A’. Bhuva construction nicked another goal allowing them a passage through to the finals.

As the group game between the two teams was a tightly contesed affair, the final between Bhuva and SGFC ‘A’ probed to be no different. However unlike the game earlier, the final was settled by the young talent of bhumika of SGFC ‘A’, crowning them champions once again.

Will they be the first team to win three consecutive titles in 2011? It is certain that other teams do all they can to stop this occurring and have the title for themselves.

On behalf of the committee we would like to take this opportunity to show our gratitude and support to our sponsors; Premiere Eurocom for sponsoring the Men’s seniors tournament, RNA Sports for sponsoring the Men’s over 35s tournament, Bendev construction for sponsoring Boy’s Under 16s tournament, AVI Contracts Ltd for sponsoring Boy’s Under 11’s tournament and Multi Hands UK LTD for sponsoring Ladies tournament.

Appreciation for the contribution of the organising committee: Raj Madha, Hasmukh Bhudiya, Rajesh Bhudiya Samji Harsiani, Sash Mayani, Mansukh Vekaria, Bharat Vekaria, Krishan Raghvani, Muks Rabadia, Jeetal Patel and Ravin Pindoria.

We would also like to express our appreciation to all the community members, their families and friends who had again attended to support the teams. Our thanks to SKLPC Cricket Club for providing the food stall and Bharat Bhanderi and Manish for preparing the football pitches and last but not least everyone who helped to organise this annual tournament.

Finally, we look forward to seeing you all again next year!!