Everton hosts Srebrenica memorial tournament

Everton hosts Srebrenica memorial tournament

Teams across the Everton family came together for a ‘We are One’ football tournament at the weekend to show solidarity in tackling hatred in all its forms.

Captained by Metro Mayors, Andy Burnham and Steve Rotherham, teams made up of staff from Everton, Everton Free School and Everton in the Community took part in a one-off football match at Vauxhall Motors Sports Club in Ellesmere Port. The event was one of a number of ‘We Are One Tournaments’ hosted across the country at the weekend to mark the 27th Anniversary of the Bosnian Genocide, with Everton’s match succeeding last year’s edition which won a ‘Remembering Srebrenica’ award.

The ‘We Are One Tournament’ unites people across Britain playing any sport in memory of those killed in the Srebrenica genocide and is supported by the likes of the FA and Kick It Out, as well as  Everton’s Asmir Begovic, whose family fled the Bosnian War when he was four years old to settle in Germany, and later Canada. Spearheading the event was Everton Free School Principal, Steve Baker who reflected on the day, and the cause it supported.

“Today has provided us with a fantastic opportunity to not only bring members of the Everton family together, but to also do it by supporting an incredibly important cause” said Steve, speaking after the tournament. […] “Prior to my experiences in education, I worked for the United Nations investigating war crimes and collecting evidence of the Bosnian genocide which had a profound effect on me. I think it’s important that we never forget the atrocities of all those years ago, and continue to reflect and remember the victims during that period in time.”

Everton Free School Principal, Steve Baker