Tournaments - School Sport Offer

Throughout the academic year, Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT) hosts regular football tournaments for local schools in the area as part of its school sports offer.

CACT offers a school sports programme which provides local schools with a variety of activities tailored to their students, whether in the form of after school sports clubs or one-to-one sessions for students who need additional support

Since September, CACT has hosted 8 tournaments in total with schools from across Greenwich, Bexley and Kent in attendance.

In line with CACT’s commitment to creating more opportunities for girls to get involved in sport, two of these tournaments have been exclusively for girls.

A regular fixture in the CACT schedule, seasonal Shield tournaments are held inAutumn, Winter, Spring and Summer at Charlton Athletic’s Training Ground in New Eltham.

Mandy Bridges, Headteacher at Fawkham Church of England Primary School, whose students have attended three of the Shield tournaments, said:

“We have been fortunate enough to be invited to participate in the tournaments for both boys and girls this year. This has been pivotal in facilitating further opportunities for our footballers, who have a range of needs including children with gifts and talents, those that have very little football experience, as well as those with special educational needs and disabilities.”

“The tournaments have been so well planned and led by Bradley, administration has been straightforward and using Tournify has been brilliant to see schedules placings. The facilities in terms of the pitches and the great referees who have encouraged and supported the children during the tournaments have been excellent.”

Every year CACT also runs the EFL Kids Cup and Girls Cup. The first round of the tournament sees CACT invite local schools to compete against each other, with the winner being able to compete in Charlton Athletic’s name at the area final against other EFL teams from the London area.

Gary Ling, PE Lead at Royal Park Primary Academy, said:

“It makes a huge impact on our children to have a positive experience of competitions and this has definitely been the case on both occasions for us at CACT tournaments."

Sandra Smith, Learning Mentor and Parent Support at St Thomas a Becket Catholic Primary School, said:

“The engagement for our pupils in this sport has increased dramatically since they have been given the opportunity to represent the school at the CACT tournaments.

“The tournaments, from invitation email to deliverance, are always gold standard, a blueprint for other community trusts.”

Bradley Marshall, CACT’s Senior Football & Sports Development Officer, said:

“We are glad to offer schools across Bexley, Greenwich, Kent and Bromley a chance to play at Charlton Athletic’s Training Ground in our seasonal football competitions. It’s excellent to see so many young boys and girls taking part in competitions against other schools, we look forward to next year's tournaments and building on the success of this years.”

To find out more about CACT’s school sports offer, click here.