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Over 1,200 primary school aged children from across the Scottish Borders participated in the 10th Borders Sport and Leisure, Festival of Football.

The annual Festival, which is supported by Borders Railway, is one of biggest participation events in Scotland and the largest event of its kind in the South East Region.

A record 114 teams took part making the 10th anniversary event the biggest yet.

The tournament was held at Netherdale in Galashiels with games taking place on a round robin basis. The event also featured the cup finals of the Scottish Borders Junior FA (SBJFA) for U13s ,U14s, U15s, and U17s.

The event is organised by Borders Sport and Leisure in conjunction with the SBJFA and the Scottish FA and honours the memory of Selkirk teenager, Cameron Gunn who died whilst playing football aged 19 in 1991.

Drew Kelly, Scottish FA Development Officer, said: "This year’s festival was a huge success with all the children playing the game in great spirit and showing some impressive skills.

"The event is supported by the teams and officials involved in the SBJFA league and represents the pinnacle of their season. We are really grateful for all the help and support they provided on the day."

Ewan Jackson, Chief Executive of Borders Sport and Leisure, said: “This was a fantastic day and it is brilliant to see this event go from strength to strength.

"About 2,500 people attended the Festival between competitors and supporters, the largest number to date.  This Festival plays a key role in encouraging Primary School pupils to play football and it was really rewarding to see so many young people enjoying competitive sport .”

David Drummond, Scottish FA South East regional manager, said: “A key objective of the Scottish FA is to grow the number of participants involved with the game.

"Working in partnership with Borders Sport and Leisure allows us to support clubs through our many club development initiatives and provide opportunities for thousands of young people to access football.

“It is events like today that really demonstrate the strength of our grassroots game and reminds us of just how important partnership working is for our game to prosper.”

The results of the SBJFA cup finals (held as part of the Festival of Football)  were as follows:

Scottish Borders Junior Football Association Youth Finals (held at 3G Arena Netherdale)
 
Under 13s – Jack Gilchrist Cup
Gala 2 – 1 Hawick (after extra time)
 
Under 14s – Bruce Scott Cup
Gala 2 – 5 Eyemouth (after extra time)
 
Under 15s  -  Cameron Gunn Cup
Gala Fairydean 6 – 1 Hawick
 
Under 17s - Chris Doyle Cup
Duns 3 – 1 Hawick