Friday was the launch of The Oasis Cup a charity football tournament. 10 teams from across the region competed for the illustrious first place, team spirit award, and top scorer. Hazel Ditchburn, Corporate fundraiser, said of the charity football event, “It is fantastic to be able to get back to doing events in person after the challenges we have all faced in last 18 months. “A brilliant day was had by all and we are thrilled with how much we have managed to raise to support our work.” The event featuring a football tournament, meal, raffle and awards ceremony was supported by Gateshead Football Club and Gateshead Football Club Foundation and raised over £4,000 for local homelessness charity Oasis Community Housing. Hazel and the team were thrilled at the strength of support from local business for the event: “Thank you to everyone who took part and supported the event, we are looking forward to next year’s competition already!” Teams from Gentoo Group, Ward Hadaway, Hilton Newcastle Gateshead, Thirteen Group, Bethany City Church, Fibro Find, Smart IT and of course an Oasis Community Housing team all took part and the friendly football matches definitely brought out some competitive spirit. After a tense round of semis between Bethany City vs Thirteen Group, and Gentoo vs Ward Hadaway, with both matches coming down to nail biting penalty shoot outs. The final featured Gentoo and Thirteen Group, with each team determined to bring home the Oasis Cup. Thirteen group played valiantly, but Gentoo took the match with some great one-touch football and impressive goals. Team Spirit Award went to the wonderful team from Hilton Newcastle Gateshead who were full of laughter all day and top scorer was snatched by Bede Finnegan from Ward Hadaway with an impressive 11 goals over 5 15-minute matches. The sweaty sock award went to Fibro Find, who played brilliantly all day despite injury and set back. Chief Executive David Smith, who led The Oasis Team to a second from bottom finish, was thrilled with the turn out for the event: “We’re really grateful for the teams and businesses which supported our inaugural Oasis Cup. “There was some great skill on display on the day, and some seriously competitive games. “Most importantly, the tournament raised much needed funds for our work bringing hope to those who find themselves homeless. We can’t wait to do it all again next year.” Every player left with an Oasis cup t-shirts, which were sponsored by Piloté Classics To register your interest for next years event email hazel.ditchburn@oasiscommunityhousing.org