London Futsal Stars lift the Camden Youth League Winter Cup

THE organisers behind the Camden Youth League Winter Cup took the show on the road on Saturday when they held the latest installment of their much-loved football competition at a brand new venue.

Under-10s teams from across London flocked to Barnard Park in Islington hoping to snap up some silverware.

And the tournament didn’t disappoint, as youngsters produced “an incredible standard of skill and teamwork” to help make the seven-a-side competition one of the best that the league has hosted so far.

Camden Elite

An afternoon of intense action ended with London Futsal Stars scoring their way to the final, where they beat Camden Elite 4-0 to take the title.

Praising the young players for all their efforts, Zahid Hossain, who runs the Camden Youth League alongside Abul Koyar, said there was a great atmosphere at the artificial pitches in Copenhagen Street.

He added: “All the players really seemed to enjoy themselves; the teams brought an incredible standard of skill and teamwork to the pitch, which made for a very exciting competition.

“The atmosphere was pretty special, with parents cheering the players on from the sidelines to help create a real buzz around Bernard Park.

Elite Pro Sport FC (in blue) beat Next Stars in the Development Cup final

“All the teams got to enjoy lots of game time and really, really liked the venue. The last time I saw a team play here, it was just a gravel pitch that was almost impossible to play on. Now it has a fantastic new 4G surface and has been revamped; it’s great for the local kids.

“We would certainly love to hold more tournaments here in the future.”

The final edition of the Winter Cup before spring kicks in came with a continental vibe courtesy of Next Stars FC, who flew over from Cadiz in southern Spain to take part in the competition.

And they were almost rewarded for all their efforts with some winners’ medals after making it to the Development Cup final, where they lost 2-0 against Elite Pro Sport FC.

Zahid said: “It was great to work with Next Stars again.

“We haven’t teamed up with them since pre-Covid, so it was really nice to see all the coaches again.

“We exchanged some ideas and discussed future tournaments, so we’ll definitely be seeing them again soon.”