The A team win Midnight Street title

Organised by Craigavon Borough Council’s Sports Development Department, Midnight Street Soccer is a 5-a-side soccer league targeting boys and girls aged 14-17 years old.

The league ran for six weeks at five locations across the Borough with 28 teams and over 220 young people in total taking part in the project.

The top two teams from each location then progressed to the grand final where competition was fierce and the standard of football was extremely high with all teams showcasing their skills.

The teams were drew into two groups which were played in a league format with the top two teams from each league going through to the semi finals. The A Team – who played in the league at Lurgan Junior High - beat Killicomaine Blues in a penalty shoot out to progress to the final and Moyraverty beat Unreal Madrid (Lurgan) in the other semi final to progress to the final. The A Team then defeated Moyraverty in the final to be crowned Midnight Street Soccer Winners 2011.

The Mayor of Craigavon, Councillor Alan Carson was on hand to present the trophy to the winning team and was extremely impressed with the event and the overall project. Eamon McCaron from the Department of Social Development presented the runners-up trophy.

“This programme is an incredibly worthwhile project held at Multi Use Games Areas in disadvantaged urban communities, providing a much needed alternative for young people at the times when communities are most vulnerable to anti-social and criminal behavior,” he commented.

“To have had 220 young people taking part in this scheme every Friday night over the weeks is outstanding and it was clear on the night of the final that everyone was having a fantastic time. Congratulations to all who took part but of course, in particular, to The A Team!”

As well as playing football, the players also took part in a Good Relations Coaching camp which gave the young people from all sections of the community an opportunity to come together and form relationships in a fun and safe environment prior to the competitive league.

The teams who took part in the final were The A Team, DDYWP, Moyraverty, FC Tuga, Unreal Madrid (Lurgan), Unreal Madrid (Portadown), FC Twente One and Killicomaine Blues.