Mosques united

30/10/2008

FOUR Manchester mosques united to take part in a football competition organised by FC United of Manchester to crteate better community cohesion.

The Sunna Mosque and the Darul-hiqmah Centre from Cheetham Hill and the Didsbury Mosque and the Makki Masjid in Longsight each entered an under 11’s team, an under 14’s team and an under 16’s team to contest the five-a-side tournament which was held at Old Trafford Sports Barn.

"The idea originally came from Diallo Mamadou, a basketball coach living in Cheetham Hill," said Robin Pye, FC United’s community and education organiser.

"He asked us whether we would be interested in helping him to organise football activities in his area to give the youth something positive to do.

"We said we were keen to help and together we developed the idea of a tournament for mosques.

"We plan to build on the success of this tournament to organise more activities in these parts of Manchester, aimed at encouraging young people to take part in sport."

All participants in the tournament received a goody bag which included free tickets to the next FC United match which was a home fixture with Ilkeston Town in the Unibond Northern Premier League.

Added Robin: "We are keen for our club to become a vehicle for community cohesion in this city and that means welcoming all parts of the community to our matches."

The tournament was funded by the Cooperative Membership as part of a project aimed at encouraging diverse participation in the football club. Among the dignatories presenting prizes was Councillor Afzal Khan CBE.

FC United is a democratically-run fans’-owned football club. It was founded three and a half years ago and has been promoted every season so far. It plays its home games at Gigg Lane in Bury and is averaging home crowds of over 2,000 this season.