The first edition of the Come Together Football Festival – in aid of the Inspire Foundation – took place at the Sliema Wanderers sports complex. The festival saw 300 players from 11 nurseries come together to raise €1,070 in aid of Inspire.

“The football festival was a great success,” said Vince Galea, fundraising executive at Inspire.

“Not only because so much money was raised for such a good cause but also because, thanks to the collaboration of Sliema Wanderers FC Nursery and the guidance of technical director Stephen Azzopardi, so many seven- and eight-year-old children had a great time, learnt about teamwork and enjoyed the game of football, all in aid of charity.”

The participating nurseries were Sliema Wanderers, Tarxien Rainbows, Melita FC, Floriana FC, Ħamrun Spartans, Swieqi United, Paola Hibs, Żejtun Corinthians, Marsaxlokk FC and Żebbuġ Rangers, Qormi. The festival was supported by TeamSport, Kristal and MFA Grassroots Department.

Inspire believes that everyone has a right to equality and inclusion. Its mission is to try to help everyone with a disability achieve this by providing individuals and their families with educational, therapeutic and leisure services.

Inspire helps more than 1,000 individuals with various disabilities, ranging from Down’s Syndrome to autism and cerebral palsy.

Mr Azzopardi explained how the festival gave the nursery the opportunity to host and co-organise an event intended to raise funds and create awareness in aid of Inspire.

He added that being part of this event was a pleasure and, as a result, coaches and players were able to offer their time, energy and talent to help children with a disability.