On Saturday 21 July 2007, the UK Bal Mandal held the 11th National 5-a-side Football Tournament at Alperton Goals, London.
44 teams and over 280 players from all over the UK had gathered – to attempt to gain not only the Pramukh Cup, but also the blessings of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj.
At 10am, the balaks had all arrived and were seated for the opening ceremony. The expressions of joy on everyone’s faces told the story. All the balaks were dressed in special designed t-shirts. Amrutvihari Swami performed the deep pragatya in the presence of Harikrishna Maharaj after which coordinators spoke about how the game should be played with the right team spirit and with unity.
The tournament began with great enthusiasm and pomp. With 115 matches being played, the ground was full of fun, laughter and delight. Many parents had also come along to support their children. Apart from the continuous enjoyment of football, there were refreshments served throughout the day to all parents and children.
The tournament was divided into 6 age groups with the winners of each age group cup progressing through to the Pramukh Cup (Cup Winners Cup). The winners of each age group cup are shown below.
|
Cup
|
Team Name |
Team Manager
|
Harikrishna Cup
(6 to 8 years) |
Loughborough A |
Shamilbhai Sakaria
|
Nillkanth Cup
(9 to 10 years) |
Brent B |
Tarunbhai Patel
|
Sarjudas Cup
(11 to 12 years) |
Leicester C |
Haribhai Patel
|
Narayanmuni Cup
(13 to 14 years) |
Brent-Harrow F |
Mohanbhai Patel
|
|
Ghanshyam Cup
(6 to 9 years mixed)
|
East C |
Aksharbhai Patel
|
Sahajanand Cup
(10 to 14 years mixed) |
Preston A |
Nitinbhai Patel
|
Despite the torrential and intermittent pouring of rain, the quality of football was not compromised. The Pramukh Cup final was played between Brent-Harrow F (winners of the Narayanmuni Cup) and Preston (winners of the Sahajanand Cup). The atmosphere was truly spectacular. At the beginning of the game, the two sides were evenly balanced at a score of 2-2. However at half time, Mohanbhai, manager of Brent-Harrow F gave his all-inspiring talk which paid of in the second half as Brent-Harrow F went on to win 6-2.
A total of 300 goals were scored in the whole tournament thrilling the many spectators that had gathered for this event. In the concluding ceremony Yogvivek Swami presented the trophies to the winning teams. Another successful Pramukh Cup surely engraved its wonderful memories in the hearts and minds of all balaks and managers.