Staff, students, friends and family came out in force to support a first of its kind Fairtrade Football tournament at the new EdinburghCollege on 11 October.
Twelve five-a-side teams made up of staff and students came together to raise awareness of the fair-trade movement – and raised over £300 which will go towards environmental projects happening both in and around the college.
The money raised at this tournment will contribute to prizes for the Green Dragons Den project, which will be held next year and will encourage students to come up with green innovations and then present them in front of real live ‘dragons’.
Sean McDonagh, Learner Development Tutor at Edinburgh College. organised the event. He said: “The support from the staff and students for this event was simply fantastic and it really helped create a real awareness of what the fair trade movement is all about – equality and working together.
“There was a real feeling of camaraderie, experienced by all teams throughout the duration of the day and I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who took part and donated.”
The Scottish Fairtrade Forum donated Fairtrade footballs to the college and Street Soccer also helped out by providing referees on the day. The event is part of Edinburgh Colleges’ overall aim to achieve Fairtrade status.
The winning team on the day was Real Sosobad, who scored 14 goals and took home the Edinburgh College Cup trophy.
Martin Rhodes, Director of the Scottish Fairtrade said: “A lot of the equipment that’s produced for sport is made in sweat shops, usually by children in very poor, in fact, brutal conditions. One of the things that we want to develop is more links between sporting events and the fairtrade movement.”
EdinburghCollege has a clear commitment to supporting and encouraging environmental and sustainable practices and offers and encourages the use of fair-trade products across all of its four campuses.
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