Northampton hospital hosts football tournament in partnership with the Cobblers

A Northampton hospital hosted a football tournament in partnership with the Cobblers. Patients, staff and volunteers from St Andrew's Healthcare joined forces to form two squads that took on five teams from various community services from across Northamptonshire.

Northampton Football Club donated training footballs, NTFC football strips, medals and trophies for all those who were involved. It included representatives from The Bridge, Northampton’s substance misuse programme, the Recovery House and the Northampton Town Football Club’s Community Trust’s disability programme.

Senior Occupational Therapist Craig Newman, who helped organise the event, said: “It was great to once again come together with all the different services from across the county who all share the same purpose which is to deliver innovative and creative sports to all local communities, particularly those who are disadvantaged.

“St Andrew’s progressed to the semi-finals and did themselves proud, narrowly losing to The Bridge, but after four hours of high quality football, it was the Recovery House who was victorious and won.

“The feedback from all who attended reflected the great atmosphere and sense of inclusion. The patients who were involved spoke about how they felt a huge sense of pride, accomplishment, personal achievement and satisfaction.

"This demonstrates how football can help transform patients’ lives in building confidence and self-esteem and fostering positive social engagement in valued and meaningful roles.”

As a charity, the says trust it has always been innovative and looked to promote good practice and lead the way in developing links with local providers. Former football player Russell Lewis, who made more than 300 appearances in the