31/05/2026
What a weekend. What a community. What a tournament.
Across two fantastic days of football, Hawkinge Town FC welcomed:
π 975 young players
β½οΈ Close to 300 games played
π¨βπ©βπ§βπ¦ 1,500+ parents, grandparents, friends and family members
π Around 1000 vehicles through our site
π 1,000+ hot food items served, including burgers, bacon rolls and sausages
π Trophies, memories and smiles created
But the numbers only tell part of the story.
Behind every kick off, every goal, every trophy presentation and every smile is an incredible amount of work. While the tournament takes place over a single weekend, it is the result of more than six months of planning and preparation by a dedicated team of volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes.
A huge thank you to our coaches, volunteers, committee members and everyone who gave up their time to make the weekend possible.
What many people do not see is that the vast majority of those helping are not event organisers by trade. On Monday morning they return to their normal jobs across a huge range of professions. Yet for one weekend they become caterers, groundskeepers, traffic marshals, event managers, maintenance teams, tournament organisers and problem solvers, all united by a desire to give local children a weekend to remember.
They give up evenings, weekends and countless hours behind the scenes to create an experience for nearly 1,000 young footballers and their families. Many of the people who make events like this happen are never in the photographs, but without them there simply would not be a tournament.
Most importantly, thank you to every player who stepped onto the pitch. Grassroots football is about enjoyment, development, friendship and creating lifelong memories, and this weekend showcased exactly what makes community football so special.
We were delighted to welcome teams and families from across Kent to Hawkinge. We are incredibly proud to showcase our facilities, our volunteers, our club and our town to so many visitors from across the county. We hope everyone enjoyed their visit and left with a positive impression of both Hawkinge Town FC and our town.
From the first whistle on Saturday morning to the final trophy presentation on Sunday evening, Hawkinge was buzzing with football, laughter, friendship and community spirit.
To everyone who attended, supported, volunteered, sponsored, officiated, coached or simply cheered from the touchline, thank you.
