The Dinas centre entered a 4-a-side footy tournament on 25th Feb. it was at the Michael Sobell centre in Aberdare and organised by Street Football Wales, a charity that supports people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and it aids people through recovery. six of us went over, I was there to hold the coats and shout support for the players!

We didn’t train, we didn’t prepare and only scraped a team of five, as of last night, so i did not have any expectations of progressing too far. It would have been good enough for me that we took part, enjoyed the day and made a few friends out of it.

We played 6 and lost once – in the final to a good team. At the award ceremony the Valleys Kids team was singled out for particular praise for playing the game in the true spirit of the event, their great conduct throughout the day and sportsmanship toward others. they received runners-up medals and a great cup for their efforts.

As it was the very first valleys Street Football Wales tournament, Daniel Parsons made history by becoming the first player to not only score a goal but get a hat trick in the game. Well done Dan.

Most importantly for me, it gave me great pleasure to hear the praise heaped upon the Dinas lads for the way in which they played that tournament and I would prefer to stand next to runners up who had earned the respect and goodwill of their fellow participants for their character than stand by winners who were less deserving.

Everyone played their part and it was a true team effort. Well done Kyle Attwood, Kyle and Ryan Stead, Danial Parsons and Ian Collins.

Roger Wilcox – Dinas Co-ordinator