Over 100 footballers take part in World Cup five-a-side tournament for Paces

World Cup fever came to North Sheffield last weekend as a charity five-a-side tournament was held in support of Paces.

112 players across 15 teams took part in the competition at St George’s Park, Sheffield Thorncliffe on Sunday (24 June) which has so far seen over £700 raised for the charity.

Dozens of spectators turned up to cheer on the competitions with a real family fun day atmosphere which saw the tournament conclude just in time for players and supporters to watch England’s 6-1 win over Panama in Russia in the actual World Cup.

Iran were the winners of the Paces World Cup with their team, led by captain Matthew Hibberd, beating Denmark in the final.

The event was supported by both Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday with the club’s mascots Ozzie Owl and Bertie Blade joining the fun.

Spencer Pitfield, Paces Chief Executive – who played in the Paces team in the tournament – said:

“Our Paces five-a-side World Cup was a fantastic event and I want to thank everyone who made it a success – from the teams who took part to the volunteers who provided the family fun and the businesses and organisations who supported them on the day.

“The money raised will go towards supporting the children, adults and families who we support at Paces day-in, day-out. We couldn’t do that without events like this raising money so I can guarantee the money will be well spent.”

Paces enjoy visit to Bramall Lane

The Blades recently opened their doors to Paces, as one of their nominated charities, for a morning of activities on the hallowed turf of Bramall Lane.

A group of over 70 children and young adults, with a range of motor disabilities, were accompanied by their parents, siblings and carers to take part in the fun.

Dave McCarthy, Operations Director at Sheffield United, said: “It was a privilege to be able to watch our guests and their families enjoy some time together having fun on the pitch.  It also proved to be a great experience for some of our Bramall Lane staff, Academy players and members of our Ladies First Team, who all joined in the kick about.

“Paces is a fantastic local charity that works so hard to help improve the lives of those affected by motor conditions and it was great to play a part in supporting everyone associated with them.”

Vikki Mallinder, External Relations Officer at Paces, said: “Our trip to Sheffield United demonstrates the power of local collaboration in helping transform the lives of the individuals this charity represents.

“Experiences like this provide an invaluable part to the learning process and development of these children and young adults”.

Sheffield United U23s visit Paces

We were delighted to welcome Sheffield United’s U23 Academy Team to Paces today (Tuesday, 1 May).

They visited Paces School to meet some of our children, hear from our headteacher Gabor and parent Vicki about what we do and watched a video all about Paces.

We’re really grateful for all the support of Sheffield United as one of their partners for the current season – and it was great to be able to host them at Paces today.