Yo! Street Zone hosted its annual street football community tournament, Rule The Court Juniors, in February, bringing together more than 70 young people from Thanet and London.
The event, one of the only street football youth tournaments of its kind in the UK, was supported by initiatives to tackle youth anti-social behaviour.
The tournament was made possible thanks to funding from The National Lottery Million Hours Fund, with a generous £500 sports equipment prize for the winners funded by Kent Police.
Four representatives from Kent Police attended the event to show their support, including Chief Inspector Lara Connor, who awarded the £500 prize voucher to the winning team. The project was part of an ongoing partnership to support young people and aims to engage them in positive activity and reduce anti-social behaviour.
Sehar Alvi, of Kent Police, said: “The work Yo! Street Zone are leading with young people is making a truly significant and positive impact, and it was inspiring to witness the level of commitment, planning and thoughtful execution that goes into each session.
“Thank you for welcoming us into your project and for allowing us to be part of the positive change you are creating within the community.”
Although the tournament had to be moved to St. Anthony’s Sports Hall in Margate due to bad weather, everyone enjoyed a day filled with impressive skills, great teamwork and spectacular goals.
The Yo! Street Zone team became Rule The Court Juniors champions for a second year in a row. They dominated games with great ball control from local football player Ralphy Holloway (14), sharp shooting from Chelsea Academy’s rising star Khalil Mitchell (13) and impressive running and tackling from Margate-based Crystal Palace Academy player Teddy Adam (16).
Tournament MVP was Khalil Mitchell, who travelled down from London for the day. He amazed the crowd with his footwork and kept everyone on their toes with his dribbling, quick footwork and precise finishing.
Local goalkeeper Skye Burton also impressed spectators with her amazing goalkeeping skills and won an award at the end of the tournament.
Yofi Yvorra, event organiser and host, entertained everyone with live commentary throughout the day. During the half-time break, Soul Chef Kitchen from Deal supplied all players with award-winning Jamaican food.
Yofi said: “It was great to see so many young people come together from the community and to be able to provide them with a quality tournament which they are so proud to be part of. I always love seeing the skills which is what makes our tournaments so special.
“Some of these young people have bright futures ahead of them in football and it’s exciting to see that level of talent playing right here at Rule The Court Juniors.
“Seeing how street football gives young people a positive focus and keeps them out of trouble is what inspires us to do what we do.”
A video capturing all the action from the day will be available on Yo! Street Zone’s YouTube channel soon.
Yo! Street Zone’s annual tournaments and weekly detached youth sessions aim to enrich and change the lives of disadvantaged and marginalised young people in Thanet, most from Black and/or ethnic minority backgrounds. Their work tackles idleness and anti-social behaviour and empowers young people to achieve brighter futures.
For more information or to support their work, please contact [email protected]
To stay up to date with events, sessions and tournaments, follow @yostreetzone on Instagram.
