THE seventh year of the Celtic Charity Cup five-a-side tournament proved to be a tremendous success as 16 teams fought it out to lift the trophy.�
And when the final whistle blew, it was the Bhoys from Pulse8 who emerged triumphant, receiving their trophy from Celtic coach Stevie Frail.
For the third year running, the event was held at Celtic’s prestigious training complex in Lennoxtown and gave fans the chance to take part in a five-a-side competition and raise money for Celtic Charity.
With 16 teams taking part, the tournament was organised into Champions League-style groups, with the top two from each of the four groups progressing to the knockout quarter-final stages.
The final was contested by The A-Team and Pulse8 – captained by Mark Fulton and Tony Zonfrillo respectively.�It was all square at 0-0 come the full-time whistle in a closely-contested match and the Pulse8 Bhoys ran out 3-2 winners in the penalty shoot-out.
Stevie Frail, who was on hand to pass on the medals to the winners and runners-up and present the Trophy to the victorious Pulse8 side, said: “This tournament has been running for seven years now and is a great way of supporting Celtic Charity and its work in our communities.
“All the�guys who’ve taken part have enjoyed the day and also the opportunity to get a taste of where the first team train on a daily basis.�I genuinely hope the Celtic Charity Cup will go from strength to strength.”
The trophy will now be engraved with the winning team’s name and displayed in the Boardroom at Celtic Park until the 2014 tournament.
As winners, Pulse8 have been invited to take part in a ten-second challenge on the Celtic Park pitch during the half-time interval of the Celtic v Ross County match on Saturday, March 29, 2014.�
In addition, Celtic Football Club donated 10 pairs of match tickets – five for the Dundee United game on November 2 and five for the Aberdeen game November 23.�They were won by players from the following teams:
Dundee United: The Citizen Football Team; Smiddy Bhoys; The A-Team; The Toffeemen; Steau Needarest.
Aberdeen: Greenock King of Kings; Bonhill Bhoys; Cuchulain Contruction; The Magnificent 7; PULSE8.
As well as these contributions from Celtic FC, Angus Johnston supplied complimentary photography services and invaluable assistance was provided by Gerry Russell, Damm Environmental and Kevin Murphy at East Dunbartonshire Leisure & Culture Trust.
The tournament received phenomenal support on the day from the staff at Celtic FC’s Training Centre at Lennoxtown (particularly Patrick) and special thanks must also go to Paul Brownlie, Jamie Reid, Gerry Manion, James McCafferty, Keiron McAneny and Sarah Maguire for wonderful assistance in delivering the event.�
To register your interest for the 2014 Celtic Charity Cup, please contact Jane Maguire on 0141-551 4262 or e-mail [email protected]
CELTIC CHARITY CUP 2013
Bayern Neverlosing; Blame Camada CSC; Bonhill Bhoys; Cuchulain; Construction Ltd; Four Leaf Clovers; Greenock Huddle; Greenock King of Kings; Pulse8; Smiddy Bhoys; Steau Needarest; The A-Team; The Citizen Football Team; The Emerald Isle; The Magnificent 7; The Toffeemen; West End Monsters.�
QUARTER-FINALS
The A-Team 4-0�Greenock King of Kings
Smiddy Bhoys 1-3 Pulse8
Steau Needarest 1-0 Greenock Huddle
Emerald Isle 0-0 Cuchulain Construction
(Emerald Isle won 4-2 on penalties)
SEMI-FINALS
The A-Team 4-1 Steau Needarest��
Pulse8 1-0 The Emerald Isle�
FINAL
The A-Team 0-0 Pulse8�
(Pulse8 won 3-2 on penalties)
Celtic Charity
The teams involved raised a magnificent total of over £4,000 for Celtic Charity, which was formed in 1995 with the aim of revitalising Celtic’s charitable traditions.
It continues to been an integral part of Celtic Football Club, uniting the Celtic Family around the world in collectively-held values and beliefs.�Our primary focus has always been that of improving the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable people all over the world and, since inception, we have raised in excess of £5m for a host of worthy causes on a local, national and international basis.
Celtic Charity is currently in the process of joining forces with the Celtic Foundation (a department of the Football Club which delivers social projects in our local communities) to become an enhanced Scottish Charity with a wider role and greater reach.�
Not only will we be supporting charities across the globe, but also making a direct impact through project delivery designed to meet local needs.�
The new entity will be called Celtic FC Foundation and is due to be officially launched in the coming months.�
