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#MHAW17 Uniting over Football

Oxfordshire Mind were delighted to be a part of the “United Oxford Cup” for first time this year.

The tournament was an event made up of eight-a-side teams of refugees, aslyum seekers and migrants from East Timor, Algeria, Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia and Kurdistan.

The winners were the East Timor team who beat the Kurdish team on penalties in the final in front of 100 spectators.

Dan Knowles, CEO of Oxfordshire Mind, strongly supported the event saying “Oxfordshire Mind were delighted to be a part of the inclusive and innovative ‘United Oxford Cup,’ the event was a great success for all of the partner organisations and sponsors involved and was a great extension of our Active Body Healthy Mind program. At the heart of this tournament the teams composed of

Ben McFadyean, who helped to organise the event said, “it was wonderful to see so many from the East Timor community in the final. Special mention for the Syrian community team, the country have been through so much in recent years and to me they are all heroes.  In terms of skills and speed I was incredibly impressed, I actually think there were a couple for Oxford United to look at! I am grateful to Oxfordshire Mind and the refugee charities for the hard work they put in alongside my company to make this 2 year journey a success. A special mention also to East Oxford FC who brought much enthusiasm for rallying the players and teams. Also thank you to Oxfordshire FA for supporting the event and Brian and Sam the referees on the day and of course Oxford University for hosting the event.”

Finally, Andrew Smith stated “it was wonderful to see everyone having such a great time at the tournament – with some very good football. Huge credit to all who brought this day together. We have to make this an annual event.”