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London’s biggest street football tournament The Last Stand, which aims to unite and motivate young people through sport, is coming to Birmingham for the first time on Sunday 8th April.
Taking place at Moonlit Park on Mosedale Way, the event will feature six teams from Brum, live music, a live DJ set, street dance performers, VIP guests and one epic showdown– where the losers will get Chicken Cottage and the winners get Nando’s.
The Last Stand, which is a community event, was created in November 2016 to unite communities and break down social, cultural and religious barriers through sport – to show how football can bring young people together regardless of their beliefs, race, ethnicity or gender.
The brainchild of 28 year-old Sikh Londoner Gundeep Anand, he invented The Last Stand in response to the divisive events of 2016 and London’s increasing postcode wars and gang conflicts. Gundeep devotes much of his time to motivating London’s youth and lobbying for their needs. He now hopes to do the same in Birmingham.
Gundeep recruits aspiring film makers to make a short film about each team taking part, focussing on showcasing the players and soundtracking them with local musicians and performers. He hopes to inspire young people to pursue their passion – be it music, football, filmmaking or anything in the creative industries – and to set aside their differences through a shared love of sport.
One former player has gone on to write and make his own films, and another has launched a clothing brand. Some teams have secured sponsorship deals with sports brands while others have organised charity events.
Gundeep explains: “We are using sport to unite people and break down barriers that can often cause conflict or divisiveness amongst communities. We also want to show them that they can achieve and to help create opportunities for them to do so. It’s about creating real change for these kids and enabling them to become positive role models for change for the younger members within their communities.”
The Last Stand has held three tournaments so far, all in London. It’s the first time that the event will be held in Britain’s second biggest city, Birmingham.
Following the Birmingham event, Gundeep is hoping to do a national tour and expand to cities such as Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds and Liverpool.
Gundeep is a director and photographer from West London. Having previously worked in a variety of roles from civil Engineering to sports coaching, Gundeep’s life was changed when his passion for promoting social change for good and filmmaking collided and he was able to make a film for Coca-Cola’s StreetGames initiative, which led to an award as one of ‘London’s most inspirational coaches’.
In Gundeep’s words: “The Last Stand is for the community by the community. It’s gonna be LIT.”
To register for free tickets for the event, vist their website.
For more info, contact [email protected]
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