This was the third occasion that the WFLA held a League Champions Cup competition. In 2022 there were 13 teams competing. In 2023, there were 30 entrants and for 2024, saw 39 entrants. Unfortunately and most disappointingly, 11 decided to withdraw, some even on the Friday of the event. As you would expect, this caused massive disruption to the fixtures, having the Fixtures Committee make some last-minute adjustments. Hopefully, this did not cause too much inconvenience to the teams that did attend.
The weekend’s events were a great success and judging by the testimonials on social media and those received by email, it seems that everyone had a tremendous weekend of walking football. The WFLA wishes to thank, Mick Hill, Tony Norton, Derek Murr, Colin Strong. and the two referees who assisted in setting up the pitches; Mick Lowley and Garry Pearce. Once again, we also wish to thank the St. John Ambulance team for being in attendance and providing the WFLA with medical cover. They will also be at all of our National Cup ‘Finals’ in September.
Many thanks must also go to the staff at Redditch Utd FC, for the use of the pitch at the Valley Stadium and were a tremendous help in making the events go according to plan. All the feedback on the day and the days following have all been highly complimentary about the facilities and staff at Redditch United FC.
The weather on the Saturday wasn’t the best. We saw rain, thunder, lightning and even a massive hailstone shower! This made the playing conditions for players and officials somewhat difficult, but eventually we got through the fixtures in the time booked. The Sunday saw the weather improve, and was a few degrees warmer.
Of course, no football events would happen without the referees and we had some excellent officials on board for the weekend, well done guys, the comments on social media regarding your officiating were well deserved.
Teams in the WFLA League Champions Cup competition were from all corners of England and Wales. All WFLA competitions are sanctioned by the FA and all member leagues are affiliated to the National Governing Body, the Football Association.
There was some top level football played over the weekend and more importantly it was played in the correct spirit. It was good to see a few faces from previous WFLA tournaments and meet some of the folk who had emailed us with queries before the event and to put faces to names at last. It was also great to see so many Women’s teams competing, especially in the over 40s.
The events over the 15th and 16th June 2024 were a great success, enjoyed by all and we look forward to repeating the event in 2025.
The Winners and Runners-Up can be found here. Photo’s of the event can be found here.
Bill Murney, WFLA General Secretary.
