Lancashire businesses urged to ‘team up’ for charity football tournament

Workmates from across Lancashire are being urged to team up for a historic charity football tournament coming to the county in April.
Workmates from across South Ribble and the Ribble Valley are being urged to team up for a historic charity football tournament coming to the county in April. Pictured are: John Treacy, Stuart Chaplin, Deborah Blades, Kevin Gallacher and Iain Mackie during the Orphanage Cup relaunchWorkmates from across South Ribble and the Ribble Valley are being urged to team up for a historic charity football tournament coming to the county in April. Pictured are: John Treacy, Stuart Chaplin, Deborah Blades, Kevin Gallacher and Iain Mackie during the Orphanage Cup relaunch
Workmates from across South Ribble and the Ribble Valley are being urged to team up for a historic charity football tournament coming to the county in April. Pictured are: John Treacy, Stuart Chaplin, Deborah Blades, Kevin Gallacher and Iain Mackie during the Orphanage Cup relaunch

Registration is now open for the Orphanage Cup, East Lancashire’s most prestigious and long-running football tournament, which has been played by teams from businesses and organisations in Blackburn for more than 80 years.

The football tournament – which began as the Royal Infirmary Cup in the 1930s – raises funds for Child Action Northwest (CANW), which was previously Blackburn Orphanage.

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Having previously only included workplace teams from within the East Lancashire area, the Orphanage Cup has now expanded to include businesses from districts across North, Central and South Lancashire, stretching from Morecambe and Lancaster right across to Bury and Rochdale.

Sue Cotton, CEO of CANW, said: “The cup first started when there was no health service, but once the funding became available to create the NHS, the fundraising continued and was given to us as Blackburn Orphanage.

“We’ve talked about whether we should change the name but we’re proud of our heritage. It gives businesses from across the county the chance to boost morale in the workplace, get more people fit and healthy and encourage teamwork for a good cause.”

The competition has gone on to raise thousands of pounds for CANW to support the most vulnerable children and young people in Lancashire.

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The current Orphanage Cup holders are Accrington-based The Senator Group, the UK’s largest manufacturer of office furniture, which has won the tournament for the past two years.

To find out more about taking part in the Orphanage Cup, contact Debs at CANW on 01254 244700 (option 6) or email [email protected]

Registration is now open and closes on Friday, February 28. Registration costs £100 per team, with proceeds going straight to CANW.