A football team dubbed the All Stars lived up to their billing last week.
The team, including Andy Rothery, Deloitte Real Estate’s head of the UK, and EG editor Damian Wild, saw off competition from Network Rail in a nail-biting final at a blindfolded five-a-side football competition held in Regent’s Park on 4 April.
Teams from Grosvenor, Kames Capital, AXA, Land Securities, St James, and National Grid also took part, with two players from each team blindfolded and the only ones allowed to score.
The winners had the help of a certain David Clarke – Team GB paralympian and England’s top goal scorer – but their efforts were sterling nonetheless.
Clarke said: “It has been an amazing day, especially to see people react to being blindfolded and seeing them communicate in a way they are not comfortable with.”
Rothery organised the tournament to raise money for Bushfire UK, a charity for children in Uganda orphaned by Aids.
Before the games commenced, Tony Larkin, coach of the Team GB blind football team, put competitors through their paces and as the day progressed the players gained confidence – or stopped running into fences at least. However, Rothery described the blindfolded experience as “terrifying”.
The day climaxed in three dramatic shoot-out rounds, with officials resorting to making goalkeepers defend on their knees in order to decide a winner.
Click here to find out more about the charity.
Click here to watch a video of the event.
Rebecca.Kent@estatesgazette.com
Rebecca.Kent@estatesgazette.com
