Five-a-side teams from Siren Craft Brew, local clubs and as far afield as Bromley took to the pitch at Farley Hill Primary School to raise more than £1,000 for the Royal British Legion local food bank and the Arborfield Aces youth football team benevolent fund.
Organised by Siren’s warehouse manager and budding Mikel Arteta, Louis Coulbeck, the tournament featured 11 teams in two groups with a semi-final and final – which played out in front of an eager crowd, Siren’s production team beating the warehouse team on penalties.
There were goals aplenty with the tournament played with good spirit and humour.
A ‘fastest shot’ competition was won by Alex Laskey with a strike measured at 69mph.
Following the tournament, players and supporters were treated to free beer and a trophy presentation at Siren’s Tap Yard, Arborfield Aces Parents won the Fair Play Award, while goalkeeper Luke Toth was named Player of the Tournament.
Louis said: “The tournament came from wanting to give back to our community. It was a specialised project for Arborfield, in an area that is constantly growing. And it was an excuse to play football.
“We had great backing from everyone at Siren, so much so that we were able to field four teams, which helped us raise a lot of money, but huge credit as well to the other teams that made it such a brilliant, fun and competitive afternoon.
“The teams were all mixed age and gender from ages 16 to 62.”
The tournament has run previously as only for Siren staff, but has grown, much to Louis’ delight.
“It’s the second time we’ve run a tournament, the first time was just in-house; this time, we wanted to do something bigger that would support the growing community around us,” he continued. “What started as a laugh last year has got a bit out of hand.
“The Siren FC team is mostly an employee group, but we have involvement from our community, and this is our way of giving something back to them.”
The donation page is still open: for more details or to give, log on to: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/sirenfc-5s
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