WORLD Cup fever gripped Alcester Town as hundreds of juniors headed to the Stratford Road Ground to take part in the club’s popular youth tournament for the first time since 2019.

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A total of 96 teams ranging from U7s to U14s across south Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Birmingham competed in the tournament which took place across Saturday and Sunday.

Making a welcome return to the calendar following the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s theme was the World Cup and before each of the four sessions across the two days, a draw was held to decide which team would represent each country.

All of this added to the fun as the celebration of youth football was hailed a roaring success by organisers who said the tournament raised around £10,000, a vital sum of money which can go towards purchasing new equipment.

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Joint organiser Gary Williams told the Herald: “It went really well and was a huge success.

“The weather dictates what you can or can’t do and as it was a slightly cooler weekend, it meant we had to replace all the refreshments after Saturday to ensure there was food for Sunday.

“From a football perspective the whole event was trouble-free and there was good support for all the teams that came from far and wide to compete.

“It was lovely to see all the juniors coming down to Alcester Town again, it was like Covid-19 was a distant memory. It was just wonderful to see the kids playing football and socialising.”

Williams added: “We raised about £10,000 which is the lifeblood for progress within the club.”

Alcester Town are now looking forward to their club presentation day on Saturday, 9th July, when a feast of football and awards are planned.

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