THE One Bolton Cup will be staged at the Reebok Stadium again next year.

The football tournament, held for the first time on Sunday 23rd May, gave community groups from different faiths the chance to battle it out on the Premier League ground.  Now, organisers want to make the event bigger and better.  This year, eight teams, including representatives from the Army, police, Bolton Council of Mosques and The Bolton News, took part.

Organiser Inayat Omarji, of Bolton Council of Mosques, said: “We will try to get more teams next year. We will look at involving maybe businesses and school teachers. “We started the inter- Mosques tournament eight years ago, then it developed into an inter-faith tournament and now we have got the One Bolton tournament. “It is fantastic Bolton Wanderers let us use such an excellent venue as well. The club puts so much back into the community.”

The eventual winners were Blackburn Road FC, a group that Mr Omarji has worked with since they were youngsters.  He added: “I am very proud of the team. I’ve nurtured them for 15 years, since they were young lads. Now they all have jobs and families and are giving back to society.”

An awards night was held after the event at the Bolton Council of Mosques. Dr Brian Iddon, former Bolton South East MP, was present and was commended for his service to the town.  This year’s One Bolton Cup was held in memory of Jameel Ahmed and Ismail Hakim, both of whom dedicated a lot of their time to the community. Mr Hakim, who died earlier this year, worked with colleges and universities in the North West in partnership with education establishments in India.

Mr Ahmed died in Pakistan after he and his wife were brutally beaten by armed robbers. The couple were attacked by five men armed with metal bars and bats who broke into the house in the capital, Islamabad. The grandfather was a well respected member of the community in Great Lever, where he lived and was passionate about education.

Bolton News May 2010