Wanderers duo Ivan Klasnic and Mark Connolly stopped off at Bolton Arena after training on Thursday to meet school children who had been participating in the annual Ray Gartside Memorial Football Tournament organized by Bolton Wanderers Community Trust.
The tournament was started in 2001 by Bolton fan Eddie Gartside in memory of his son Ray and this year 20 primary schools from across Bolton entered the play-off style competition before it culminated in a final featuring Sacred Heart of Westhoughton against Egerton with Scared Heart collecting the winner’s trophy.
Ivan and Mark spent their time at Bolton Arena watching the Year Three and Four primary school children in their six minute games before cheering on both Sacred Heart and Egerton in the tightly contested final which saw Sacred Heart run out as 2-1 winners. The two players rounded off their visit by presenting the trophy to the winning team with medals for the runners up before posing for photographs and signing autographs for the large crowd that had attended.
Speaking about his time at Bolton Arena, Ivan said:
“I have enjoyed coming here today and spending some time watching this tournament. It is enjoyable to see these children enjoying their football so much and playing with a smile on their faces.”
Steve Obertelli, School of Football Manager for BWCT said:
“This year was the first time the Ray Gartside Memorial Trophy has been for primary school children in years three and four and it proved a great success with 160 children entering from 20 schools across Bolton. The whole tournament was played in a great spirit and it was fantastic to have Mr Eddie Gartside, Ivan Klasnic and Mark Connolly on hand to present the trophies.”
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