As World Cup fever grips the globe, Missio was delighted to cheer on another squad of champion players at the Fr Barry French girls football tournament, organised and hosted by Cardinal Wiseman Catholic High School in Ealing.
Named after an inspiring and much-loved local priest, the late Fr Barry French, the tournament brought together Year 5 pupils from eight primary schools within the Saint Carlos Catholic Academy Trust. But rather than competing against each other, each school was split across four teams. These mixed teams represented four different Catholic charities: Mission Together (Missio for children), Mary’s Meals, the Jesuit Refugee service and St Vincent de Paul’s.
This was a brilliant idea on the part of the organisers. As the Catholic Life lead for Cardinal Wiseman school, Mr Conor Ryan explained:
‘The schools participating will be mixed and represent a Catholic charity rather than their school. This is to increase social interaction, develop an understanding of the charity and boost team building.’
Building friendships through football
Although the twelve girls in the Mission Together squad were strangers when they arrived, they soon began to work together as a team. Missio representative, Claire, provided early encouragement with a pre-match pep-talk about Mission Together. One pupil explained:
‘Claire came up to us and asked us to hold hands in a circle. It was a little bit confusing, but then we realised that is what Mission Together is all about: making connections and friendships and caring for other people.’
It was a great way to break the ice between participants from different schools. One pupil from Mount Carmel Primary said:
‘I felt nervous because I didn’t really know anybody in this team and because there was no one in my school in this team at all… I was afraid that I might be left out, but clearly I wasn’t.’
Together for the win
Proudly sporting their Mission Together t-shirts, the team made a flying start to the tournament, netting an impressive opening goal within minutes of their first match and quickly adding a second soon after. Facing strong competition, Team Mission Together maintained their momentum with consistent goal scoring and a solid defence throughout all three matches – and booted their way to victory!
United in mission
The team’s outstanding performance saw them crowned champions, lifting the Fr Barry French Cup at the close of play. Their victory demonstrated to the girls the power of working together as one, even alongside those they may not have known well at the outset. One player from St Vincent’s Primary School shared:
‘I felt very happy because all of us were joining together and communicating and so we were able to win, and we tried our best.’
The tournament was followed by a short presentation by each charity, encouraging pupils to relay their learnings about how their schools can support and get involved with the work of all the charities present – including, of course, Mission Together. We’re confident all the squads will return to school fired up to spread the love of Jesus through acts of kindness and charity at home and around the world.
Thank you!
A huge thank you to Mr Ryan and Cardinal Wiseman School for organising such a special event, and to all the schools who took part. Special thanks to all the pupils who were part of Team Mission Together, we are very proud of your efforts – your example of unity through faith is truly inspiring – not to mention your football skills!
Get involved
Could you fundraise for Missio and Mission Together? Whether it’s through sport, a shared meal, a stall, or something completely different, you’ll find loads of inspiration to get you started on our fundraising page>>