Football tournament to help tackle hunger

Restaurants and businesses are preparing to battle it out on the football pitch in the inaugural Hackney Footballers Against Hunger Cup.

The event is being organised by Papi restaurant in collaboration with Hackney Foodbank and takes place on the football pitches at Haggerston Park on Monday October 7.  There’ll be freshly-prepared empanadas from De Nadas and toasties and coffee from Finks.

Charlie Carr, co-founder of Papi, said: “Papi FC is ready to take on some of Hackney’s best businesses – our staff team love football and we came up with the idea of this tournament as a way to get together for some friendly competition while raising vital funds to ensure no-one in our community goes hungry.  We’re so thankful to all the fantastic businesses getting involved.”

The five-aside tournament features eight teams. As well as Papi, there’s The Auld Hag, The Baring, 40FT Brewery, The Haggerston, Sune, the advertising agency Mother and Hackney Foodbank.

Sally Newsom, of Hackney Foodbank, said: “We’d love for the community to come out and cheer the players on – it should be a lot of fun!  With demand for our food bank up 24% in the past 12 months and rising, we are bracing ourselves for a very tough winter. Funds raised at the Footballers Against Hunger Cup will help see us through the months ahead.

“With a semi-pro player on our staff team and a player who was shortlisted for a national women’s squad, we quite fancy our chances!”

Hackney Foodbank has six distribution centres providing emergency food and support and the Hackney Giving Van, a mobile food bank, is out five days a week. Last week the charity supported 672 people.

Gates for the tournament open at 6.45pm and kick-off is at 7pm. For tickets, visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/footballers-against-hunger-charity-football-tournament-for-hackney-foodbank-tickets-1021605538667