Colombia take title at Chai 5-a-side fundraiser

More than 60 footballers raised more than £600 for Chai Cancer Care as they took part in the charity’s first ever 5-a-side tournament.

Ten teams took part in the competition, which was held at the PowerLeague centre in Mill Hill, to raise awareness and money for the Jewish cancer charity.

This was the first 5-a-side competition run by the Young Chai committee. Jenna Freedman, a member of the committee decided to organise the event due to her links with the charity. She said: “I decided to organise it, as I am a member of the Young Chai committee, but also because of my links to the charity. My mother was diagnosed with lung cancer about 18 months ago and she regularly uses their services. It is somewhere she loves going and it has had a huge impact on her general well-being and state of mind.

“My initial aim was to organise an event that would raise both money and awareness, whilst having fun – and by these determinants, we certainly achieved that aim.

“I was so pleased that the event was a success; the afternoon ran smoothly and we saw some fantastically competitive, exciting matches from the participants, as well as raising more than £600 for Chai.

“We had a lot of positive feedback from the teams in terms of how enjoyable it was and I felt immensely proud of the achievement, especially as this was Chai’s first event of this kind.”

Ten teams, each taking the name of a World Cup participant, took part in two-and-a-half hours of action, which included a first-round league stage, and was followed by semi-finals and then the final.

Team Colombia, captained by James Levy, claimed the winners medal, with Daniel Tannenbaum’s ‘Portugal’ team finishing up as runners-up.

Freedman added: “The Young Chai committee want to say a huge thank you to all the participating teams on the day, who played brilliantly and determinedly – despite the rain showers – and made the competition so successful!”