On Friday 7th September, St Andrews Northampton hosted its third annual 7 a side football tournament organised by Prichard Ward occupational therapist Craig Newman.
With support from the Northampton Town Community Trust, 80+ participants took part comprising of three community teams representing the Bridge Project, Berrywood hospital and the recovery house in Rushden. All three of these groups currently receive weekly coaching sessions delivered by the Cobblers Community Trust. St Andrews put forward two teams with patients across four different adult male IPU’s taking part. A number of trophies and prizes were made by patients in the WWH heavy industry and therapy sessions on Prichard ward.
All games were highly competitive and played in fantastic spirit. Both St Andrews teams were semi-finalists where team Germany beat team Brazil on penalties. St Andrews (Germany) progressed to the final where they were beaten 1-0 in a closely fought game against the Recovery House.
This year the Professional Football Association is also focussing on inclusion through football and increasing awareness of mental health problems. Terry Angus (former cobblers and Fulham defender) from the PFA Equalities Executive in Community attended and delivered a passionate talk about mental health and well-being. He was inspiring and relatable to the patients when sharing his own personal experiences and pressures that footballers face within their life. Terry praised the partnership and the work being done by all organisations in enhancing patient’s health and well-being through using football to engage patients and make positive lifestyle changes. Terry was also joined by Northampton Town players David Cornell and David Buchanan who took time out to attend the day signing autographs and talking to the patients.
The tournament was a great success and promotes the fantastic partnership working between all organisations. A big thank you to everyone involved in the day who helped make it such a success.