Exciting Charity Event at Kennington Oval – 7th November 2012

 

WHAT’S GOING ON?

– This year is the 140th anniversary of the first ever FA Cup Final, which was staged at Kennington Oval cricket ground.
– Lambeth in general, and the Oval in particular, had a key but unknown role in the early development of the world’s most popular sport, and it’s a personal passion of mine to ensure we reclaim this heritage for our area.
– To help do this, a rematch of the first ever FA Cup Final in 1872 has been arranged for Wednesday 7th November 2012.
– The game will see the locally-based Wanderers FC, who played at the Oval in the 1870s, take on the Royal Engineers FC. Wanderers beat the Engineers 1-0 in the original final to lift the first FA Cup.

CHARITY EVENT
– The event will be a major festival of football, raising money for three different charities.
– One of these is local youth football club Lambeth Tigers FC, who run teams for over 200 local kids across a variety of ages. The Tigers are based locally, and train in Myatts Field Park every week. As well as football they also provide mentoring and positive role models for kids. They were set up to keep young people away from gangs and help mould them into positive citizens.
– The other two charities are The Royal British Legion and The Haig Trust. This is in recognition of the fact that the first Cup Final included a military team, and that the rematch is a few days before Remembrance Sunday.

THE SCHEDULE
– The day will start at 2:40pm with a football tournament for 12 Lambeth primary schools (including Reay School).
– This will be followed by a Lambeth Tigers exhibition match at 4:50pm, and a woman’s football match at 5:30pm.
– The main event will then take place at 7pm, with the rematch of that first FA Cup Final between Wanderers and the Royal Engineers.
– There will also be a full military marching band to provide entertainment on the day as well.

MEDIA & FA INVOLVEMENT
– The event will be very high profile, and has really caught the imagination.
– The Football Association have endorsed the event officially, and the oldest existing FA Cup trophy is being specially transferred from its home in the Museum of Football in Manchester to the Oval so people can have their photograph taken with it.
– Match of the Day will be running a piece on the event, and BBC London will broadcast live from the Oval throughout the day. It will also be covered by TalkSport, the Daily Mail and ESPN.
– The local TA unit on Flodden Road will also be involved (FA Cup qualifiers were played there in the 1870s as well, coincidentally).

TICKETS
– Tickets for the event have been priced at £10 for adults and only £1 for U16s, with all proceeds going to the charities. Surrey Cricket are hosting the event entirely for free.
– Groups of 10 people can gain access for only £50, whilst military personnel in uniform with a valid ID card will gain free entry.
– The game will be watched by a crowd of 7,500, and tickets are already selling fast.
– To buy tickets, visit https://www.eticketing.co.uk/surreytickets/details/event.aspx?itemref=2102 , Email tickets@surreycricket.com, or call 0845 375 1845. Even if you can’t make the event, please consider buying a ticket to help support it.
– To find out more click here : http://www.kiaoval.com/history-of-the-wanderers/

WANDERERS FC
– Wanderers FC were reformed by Lambeth resident Mark Wilson in 2009 to raise money for charity through the playing of football. In the last 3yrs they have raised over £3,000 for UNICEF.
– Their latest charity partner is Kennington-based Crossworld. Crossworld FC use football to provide educational and vocational training for unaccompanied/homeless young people, including refugees. The ‘Wanderers’ got their name because they were homeless for much of their history.
– Wanderers have also launched a ‘crowd-source’ fundraising drive. They are aiming to raise £1,500 to help them introduce youth teams and a woman’s football team, and to continue the support they provide to Lambeth Tigers. To find out more about this, visit : http://www.sportfunder.com/browse.php?project=1245

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