The FA continue to support Thurrock Tigers 'Kick it Out' tournament.
Tuesday, 27 November 2007.
With the success of the England Women’s team at the 2007 World Cup in China, interest in girls’ and women' football continues to rise and this was evident at Thurrock Tigers FC third annual “Kick It Out” tournament.
This tournament witnessed an increase in the number of teams participating - in particular girls teams.
The success of the tournament from previous years has attracted the involvement of other teams wanting to be part of the “Week of Action” and there were 42 teams in total, an increase of 10 teams from the previous year.
In October 2005, the tournament raised over £1,500, with all proceeds being donated to charity. This prompted Thurrock Tigers to make this an annual event with the continued support of The FA.
The 2007 event was attended by Phil Sammons, Chief Executive of the Essex FA, Piara Powar, Director of 'Kick It Out', Koye Sowemimo from The FA's Customer Relations team and Jackie Newing, The FA's Equality and Child Protection administrator.
The staff all played their part in ensuring that the tournament ran smoothly and credit must go to everyone involved.
It is always difficult to reach out to volunteers but Thurrock Tigers have been able to maintain this over the years due to their commitment to the community and ensuring that everyone is more than welcome to take part. This all falls in line with The FA’s 'Football for All' campaign.
A total of £1,250 was raised largely due to the appearance of The FA Cup, the Jules Rimet trophy and proceeds from the Thames Rugby Club were also added to this. This year Thurrock Tigers have decided to donate all the proceeds to the Everyman Cancer Charity.
As with previous events, The FA's Commercial division provided England merchandise to award as prizes for individual winners and team prizes were provided by The FA's International department.
Balbinder Singh from Thurrock Tigers said, “We really appreciate the support of The FA and in line with their charities, Thurrock Tigers FC would like to continue donating proceeds from the 'Kick It Out' tournament to The FA's Charity Partners."