09.08.07
Oldham drugs clients do themselves proud at North West football tournament
A team of eight players from Oldham Drug and Alcohol Action Team, were yesterday crowned runners up, at the annual North West DAAT charity football tournament which took place at Salford Sports Village.
The team, made up of ex drug users, from various drug and alcohol services in the borough, competed against seven other teams from the North West area, and won all five of their matches, narrowly losing to Wigan in the final after a controversial penalty decision.
‘The team have done themselves proud’ commented Mahmood Warwaich, Oldham’s Service user Development Worker; who organised the team.
‘A year ago some of these players would physically and mentally not have been able to compete in a tournament like this because of their addiction to drugs or alcohol, not only did they compete, but they had a team of eight rather, than ten which meant we weren’t able to rest players.’
The players, whose problems range from alcohol to heroin addiction, were presented with their trophy by Oldham Athletic Chief Executive Alan Hardy, and new midfielder Jean Paul Kalala, who congratulated the players on their achievement adding ‘this tournament demonstrates that there are a lot of positive ways to tackle the problem of drugs.”
Team captain Martin Doogan added ‘we should all be proud of ourselves for what we have achieved, not just in the tournament but the barriers that each of us have had to overcome to get to the stage where we are able to compete, it demonstrates a positive mental attitude, and determination. It wasn’t just about the football, by competing we have improved our communication and team working skills.’
Mahmood added, ‘these additional skills which the team have learnt and demonstrated are crucial for their continued development and recovery- in this case it really was the taking part which mattered. ‘
The tournament, raised money for Manchester’s Christie Cancer Hospital, is the culmination of 12 months of hard work by local DAAT teams to use sport, exercise and a range of other activities to get people off drugs and back into society.
For further information contact Nyree Hood, Marketing and Communications Officer, on 0161 621 9395, or e mail nyreehood@positivestepsoldham.org.uk
