John Lewis are twinning champions

As the European Championships reach the knock out stages in Austria and Switzerland, another festival of football was taking place in South East London. The Goals Soccer Centre in Beckenham may not be Wembley or the Nou Camp, but with bowling green pitches and a whitewashed pavilion, it proved to be an excellent venue for Street League's fifth twinning tournament.

Twinning is Street League's supporter engagement programme, bringing together organisations that support us with our players. This was the largest yet, with over 120 players in eight combined teams, locking horns for the right to call themselves Twinning Champions 2008!

The competing teams were - Comic Relief, Morgan Stanley, NBC Universal, State Street, Deutsche Bank, The London Development Agency, John Lewis and a Street League select eleven.

Teams were divided into two groups of four and following a hotly contested group stage, the final was played out between NBC Universal and John Lewis. In just their first twinning tournament, John Lewis romped to victory, scoring three unanswered goals in an electric final.

Another of the debutants, State Street, didn't fare quite so well, finishing eighth. There was consolation however, as they walked away with prize for the fiendishly difficult quiz. The spirit of the day was epitomised by Morgan Stanley, voted fairplay winners by the referees. Prizes were generously donated by John Lewis and NBC Universal.

Pictures of the day can be found here.

Many thanks to the Goals North Beckenham for hosting us; to Julieno Catering of the food and to all the volunteers who helped us run the day.