Posted by Marketing, 13th December 2016
On Saturday December 17th at Silverbacks Park, Atlanta – the greater sporting community of Georgia will come together to take part in the Father Christmas Cup, a soccer tournament that is now entering its 13th year of running. It has hitherto been firmly established as an annual soccer fundraiser that helps to showcase the power of sport in bringing together communities in times of great need.
The core purpose of the event is to provide comfort and financial support to a family who will be experiencing their first Christmas without a loved one. The chosen beneficiaries of this year’s event are Major Greg Barney, Frank Hugh Chillemi, Edmundo (Mundo) Campbell and U.S. Marshal Deputy Commander, Patrick Thomas Carothers.
The 2016 event will run from approximately 8.30am until 5.30pm and will feature youth and adult matches, raffles, an online auction (you can participate even if you don’t attend the tournament) and a moment of silence for the honourees. The top auction prize this year has been donated by GIS and its partner, Virgin Atlantic Airways, and includes 2 x free economy class tickets to England with Premier League match tickets included (terms, conditions and exceptions apply). Atlanta United F.C. will once again be heavily involved in the event as the lead sponsor on the day. GIS have also contributed a series of signed jerseys from our professional partners in Europe, along with other leading European soccer clubs, as part of the auction.
With over 55 teams expected to attend this year, player numbers above 750, as well as the expansion of the tournament to include a ladies competition, the Father Christmas Cup continues to be a cornerstone of community cohesion and togetherness, at a time of year when it is needed most. The addition of more sponsors, participants and awareness surrounding the competition only serves to reinforce the notion upon which it was founded – the power of hope, peace, civility and regard for one’s fellow man.
Global Image Sports is proud to be an active sponsor to the event and will be sending out a team on Saturday to take part in the competition and lend our support on the day. The success of the event is only made possible through the engagement and generosity of the wider Atlanta Soccer Community.
As a final bit of food for thought – the core founding principle of the Father Christmas Cup comes from a story left on the fields of Flanders during World War I. On Christmas Day in 1914, German and Allied forces stopped shelling each other and instead met in no-man’s land to partake in a game of football. The image of casting aside one’s pre-conceived ideals to instead show compassion, good nature and non-prejudice is a potent message that underpins the substantive ethos of what the Father Christmas Cup aims to get to the heart of, in speaking to the beneficiary families.
Global Image Sports would like to wish everyone involved on Saturday the very best in the running of the day and also to send a message of support to the families involved in the event. Soccer as a source of community spirit is a powerful force indeed at this time of year.
Follow all at the Father Christmas Cup action on the day via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
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