Five-A-Side Community Football Tournament

2019 - Present

A unique 5 a-side football tournament that takes pleace from the M.U.G.A. (Multi-Use-Games-Area) in the heart of Shieldfield, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Ran entirely by volunteers the idea is to bring together a diverse range of people through the collective joy of kicking a ball about. The event is FREE at the point of access, actively welcoming participation from all who want to play - regardless of age, gender, or footballing ability.

The ‘cup’ was initiated by Mahamat Younis, Richard Turland & Andrew Wilson, and is organised annually with support from many individuals, groups and organisations including Dwellbeing Shieldfield, Forum Cafe, NewBridge Project, Shieldfield Art Works, Shieldfield Community Chefs, and The Star & Shadow Cinema.

BACKGROUND:

The very first Shieldfield Community Cup took place in May 2019 with players ranging in age and ability, attracting approximately 100x spectators, and some even bringing cakes!

The ‘Cup’ started as a modest experiment in response to questions that were been asking about where people in Shieldfield meet and encounter one another. The MUGA was suggested as one such place, and ‘the Cup' emeged as an experiment to push this potential to it's maximum whilst having a lot of fun in the process.

After the first event many asked: ‘When are you doing this again?.’ So, we have continued ever since, each year back by popular demand!

HOW IS IT ORGANISED?

The Shieldfield Community Cup is collaborative community project jointly organised by Shieldfield residents, The Star & Shadow Cinema volunteers, Shieldfield Youth Programme, both artists and staff from The Newbridge Project, the Forum Cafe, Dwellbeing Shieldfield and support from Shieldfield Art Works.

The idea was Initiated by Richard Turland, Mahamut Yannis and Andrew Wilson, but continues with the support of many, many more - especially Dan Russell, Luke, Hannah Kirkham, Edyta Czarnecka, Anouk Lafortune-Bernard, Izaak Gledhill, Elaine Robertson, Ken Mallon, Colin Gray, Jill Holder and Liberty Hoades.

We hope to continue to organise and grow the event alongside people who live, work or play in Shieldfield - this could be suggesting ideas or additional activities, committing to helping on the day, or by becoming a volunteer organiser and joining our regular(ish) meetings.

As with the game itself, all are welcome regardless of age or experience!

Please get in touch: shieldfieldcup@gmail.com