Greenwich and Bexley

One Game, One Community

Footballers from countries as diverse as Angola and Albania celebrated Black History Month on the pitch at the Thames Gateway Community Football Festival.

More than 200 people representing black ethnic minority and refugee communities played at the event held on the grounds of Woolwich Polytechnic.

The winners were Makeway Eagles who are made up of players from Angola and Mozambique. They beat Congo FC in a gripping 5-4 final.

The festival was organised by South East Circular Projects and held in conjunction with the Kick Racism Out of Football Campaign. Many of the men who took part also play in a local Saturday league.

Organisers say their aim was to bring different communities together. They also want adult players to take up regular physical activity in order to support their children doing more sport.

Other local organisations supporting the festival included Charlton Athletic Race Equality (CARE) Partnership and Trust Thamesmead.

The teams were;
1. Makeway Eagles- WINNERS: ( Angola Mozambique)
2. Congo FC- RUNNERS UP (DR Congo)
3. One World -THIRD PLACE (mix from Gambia, Nigeria)
4. Newham Borough (mix African Caribbean, Albania, Poland)
5. Bolivia Social Club (Bolivia)
6. Meridian (Ghana)
7. Meridian 2 (Serra Leone)
8. Cameroon Network (French Speaking Cameroon)
9. Wahala United (Nigeria)

Credit: Video footage provided by Matthew Wing, Charlton Athletic Race Equality Partnership.

Watch the match highlights >  Watch more match highlights >  Listen to an interview with the festival organiser > Audio and Video links on this page require Realplayer