Football success for Bristol immigrants
A Bristol team featuring refugees and asylum seekers, has been crowned the Unity Shield winner at a national football festival organised to help combat racism.
After a tense final, the Bristol team, Polish Consul, overcame a strong Hull side with the final decided by a penalty shoot out.
The team take home a full set of England kits, courtesy of the Football Association.
The Unity Cup Festival, organised by Kick It Out, football's anti- racism campaign, brought together teams of refugees and asylum seekers from all corners of the UK to highlight the positive contribution displaced communities are making in the UK.
The weekend featured 20 teams from Birmingham, Bolton, Bristol Cardiff, Edinburgh, Hull, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Southampton, Stoke on Trent, Worthing and the host city Sheffield.
The Marc Viven Foe Fariplay trophy, named after the former Manchester City star who tragically died on the field of play in 2003, was won by FC Strongbow from Bolton.
Piara Powar, Director of Kick It Out, said: "The Unity Cup Festival is about much more than a football tournament, it is about bringing some of the most marginalised communities together through football.
Sheffield United Academy Director, George Harrison, commented, "There have been some fantastic players on show here over the weekend and I've been very impressed by how the teams have played the game in the right spirits.
"The Unity Cup Festival has surpassed all of my expectations and we feel proud to have hosted this great event."
