A football tournament that aims to bring together young people and the police has kicked off this July with support from merseyflow.
The KOPS ‘n’ KIDS football tournament sees youngsters from across Halton coming together to stay active, stay healthy and have fun in the first community football tournament organised by Runcorn Police Station in 40 years.
The Mersey Gateway and Silver Jubilee Bridge tolling provider, merseyflow, is one of the main sponsors of the event, providing the 50 footballs that will be used throughout the tournament.
The KOPS 'n' KIDS intiative is designed to give children a chance to meet local officers and to help to build bridges and develop friendships between the police and young people.
There are around 1,200 kids from 98 teams taking part, from Runcorn, Widnes, Ellesmere Port, Warrington and Liverpool.
PCSO Georgina Griffiths, of Runcorn Local Policing Unit, said: “KOPS ‘n’ KIDS is a great scheme that allows local officers from the Runcorn area to build relationships with kids in the area in a fun, non-threatening way.
“While the lockdown restrictions have put a stop to some of the plans we originally had for this summer, we’re pleased to be able to go ahead with this mammoth football tournament to bring together the community. This wouldn’t be possible without the support of our sponsors, like merseyflow.”
The merseyflow team is proud to be a partner of KOPS ‘n’ KIDS, having supported the force’s efforts within the community at previous events.
Neil Conway, Chief Executive Officer of merseyflow, said: “We’re dedicated to supporting the local community in Halton and are looking forward to supporting the KOPS ‘n’ KIDS football tournament this year.
“The KOPS ‘n’ KIDS initiative is a fantastic way to engage young people with sport, the police and the wider community, and we’re pleased to be a part of it.”
The KOPS ‘n’ KIDS football tournament will take place at Runcorn Linnets Football Club on the Saturdays and Sundays of 3, 4, 10 and 11 July, from 9am to 3pm each day.
