On Saturday 2 October 2021, military charity, Walking With The Wounded (‘WWTW’) will host 80 veterans from across Europe in an international football tournament at Allied Vehicles Groups Peugeot Ashfield Stadium, home of Glasgow Tigers Speedway. The event will start at 10.30 am and the first game will begin at 11.00 am with six games being played in total. The football tournament will finish at 15:50 and will be followed by a trophy presentation.
The tournament is a partnership between WWTW’s MEDALS Project and four other military veterans’ organisations including, Glasgow’s Helping Heroes’, Andy Allen’s Veterans Support group in Northern Ireland, NFVK of Norway, and Burnley FC in the Community and supported by Mind the Pipes and Drums NI. The Team at Allied Vehicles Group and Glasgow Tigers Speedway have kindly donated the use of the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium for the tournament and all hospitality on the day.
The football players in attendance are coming from Norway and across the British Isles. The event aims to use football to demonstrate the spirit of veteran comradeship and Walking With The Wounded’s ‘Mind The Pipes and Drums’ band will play the national anthems for the veterans before the event.
William Cairns, WWTW Scottish Veterans Project Manager, said,
“Walking With The Wounded’s MEDALS football tournament is an exciting new event that will bring the international veteran community together. I would like to thank all the teams who have signed up to take part, we cannot wait to welcome them to the stadium on October 2nd. We are incredibly grateful to the team at Allied Vehicles Group and Glasgow Tigers Speedway, who has generously donated the use of the stadium for the tournament.”
The football tournament was developed to increase the physical activities of the veterans while at the same time using sport as a tool to improve the mental health and wellbeing of the veteran community. Lockdown has affected many of the veterans that Walking With The Wounded supports, with many reporting poorer mental health because of the numerous Covid-19 lockdowns.
