Issue 6 – Friday 4 August
The first town champions take a bow in Pass for Peace tournament
Pass for Peace team
While the weather may not be beautiful, some of the football that the teams contesting in 'Pass For Peace' have been producing, certainly is.
The big news is that the Blue Whale Town are the first to crown their town champions! As Blue Whale is the one of the smallest groups, villages only needed to win their first round match in order to qualify for the town final. The first of these encounters was between V32 and V33. The match was decided on penalties after a hugely enjoyable 1 - 1 draw, V33 edging out V32 5 - 3 on spot kicks. Louie Hodgson from V32 was in upbeat mood despite the result: "It was great fun and I don't mind that we're out." Village 34 took on Village 31 on the other side of the draw with the match initially ending in a stalemate, but when a penalty kick competition to get a result could not be scheduled, V31 sportingly dropped out, allowing V34 to move through to the final. The final itself between V33 and V34 was an entertaining affair with both village communities getting really involved. V34's supporters were to end up the happier, with their team taking the Town championship with a 5 - 2 win, with help from their Russian and Nepalese delegations.
The action is also hotting up in the Golden Monkey Group, where the first round of matches in the group was wrapped up by a 7 - 2 win for V7 over V8. This result sets up a second-round clash for V7 against V5 – the Red Wolf village posing as Golden Monkeys for the sake of tournament logistics.
Over in Indigo Snake Town, V41 battled for a 3 - 2 victory over V38 in an eagerly-contested match. The result means that V41 now meet V37 in a match that offers the winners a place in the town final. Meanwhile V36 had the significant advantage of being the home of the Brazilian delegation and they certainly benefited from this as Wagner showed onlookers how to play the Brazilian way, grabbing all six goals for his team, ably assisted by Rosie, in their 6 - 3 win over V39. Keeper Brendan Ching also deserves a special mention for his crucial performance in the V36 goal.
The youngsters of V14 can be very proud of themselves after they did the early damage to V17, with V14 running out eventual 5 - 1 winners. The enthusiastic players from V14 can now be safe in the knowledge that they have secured a spot in the Yellow Parrot Town final.
There was a large German presence in the V4 and 6 teams that slugged it out in a late-night encounter in the Red Wolf Town. So late, in fact, that for much of the second half, the players had trouble picking each other out through the increasing gloom. the players did their utmost to overcome the conditions and it would seem that V6 have been eating their carrots as they emerged 8 - 3 victors. This means that V6 have the opportunity to lift the Red Wolf title if they beat V2 in the town final.
Finally, we can reveal that the final of the Green Turtle Town Group will be between Villages 23 and 27. V27 reached the final by beating V29 2 - 1 with goals from Ben and Jack. V27's team was boosted by the arrival of Senegalese star Gorgui Diallo whose arrival at Global Village had been delayed. Gorgui wasted no time, jumping straight off the plane and onto the pitch. Tournament organisers will be coming round to the villages still involved in 'Pass For Peace' to inform you of your future fixtures. However, should you need to get in contact with the organising team, leave a message for Matt, Jim and Nicky at either V26 or the Camp Information Point and we will get back to you.