‘Fans for Diversity’ XI romp to victory at Sports4Wellbeing tournament

Tuesday 26 May 2015
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A special ‘Fans for Diversity’ XI, featuring Watford legend Luther Blissett, took to the Hornets’ pitch at Vicarage Road as they played their part in the #RoadToVicarageRoad tournament.

The tournament, which was partially funded through the ‘Fans for Diversity’ fund and organised through Sports4Wellbeing and Soccer League UK, saw two matches take place on the pitch on Tuesday 19 May.

During the qualifying phases of the tournament at Wixams Football Centre, over £1,000 pounds was raised for the Nepal earthquake victims.

Luther joined Anwar Uddin, the first British Asian to captain a side in the Football League, alongside staff from Kick It Out and Football Beyond Borders to form the team that took on Soccer League UK FC.

In a six-goal thriller, Anwar opened the scoring with a 30-yard daisy-cutter strike which deceived the Soccer League UK goalkeeper. ‘Fans for Diversity’ then took control of the match as they won 5-1, much to the delight of Anwar and his team.

The exhibition match was followed by the #RoadToVicarageRoad final between Liberties FC and Renhold United. In a fiercely fought contest, Liberties edge out Renhold 4-2 to take the title.

Anwar, lead on the ‘Fans for Diversity’, was delighted that the campaign could once again support a fan-led competition.

“We want to help as many fans as possible organise events which encourage diversity within football, which is why we were thrilled to be a part of the #RoadToVicarageRoad tournament.

“Sports4Wellbeing and Soccer League UK have developed a fantastic tournament that has included teams from across different counties with the aim of encouraging people from all backgrounds to participate.

“The ‘Fans for Diversity’ fund is in place to help fans create and develop projects like the success that is the #RoadtoVicarageRoad tournament.”

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