Teams from across Scotland will come together to help increase football’s accessibility for people from an ethnic minority background at the 2018 Scottish FA Multicultural Football Festival.

Established in 2013 thanks to support from the Scottish Government’s CashBack for Communities initiative, the festival was founded in partnership with Bemis Scotland.

The festival aims to promote diversity and equality within Scotland, with club sides across the nation coming to Glasgow to take part in the event.

Now in its fifth year, this year’s festival will see teams participate across three competitions – a senior men’s tournament, a tournament for those between the ages of 12 and 15, and a children’s event for 8-11 year-olds.

Andy Gould, Head of Football Development at the Scottish FA, paid tribute to the growth of the festival, as well as thanking its supporters.

“Despite being a recently established competition within the Scottish FA, the Multicultural Football Festival is one we hold in high regard and one we look forward to developing in the future.

“The Scottish FA is committed to developing grassroots football to ensure this fantastic game can be enjoyed throughout Scotland, empowering communities to come together as one, share knowledge, experiences, cultures and more importantly the love of football.

“We would like to thank BEMIS Scotland for their continued partnership and we look forward to working together on exciting projects in the future.

We would also like to thank our fantastic supporters, the Scottish Government and CashBack for Communities, for their support in making the festival possible.”

Rami Ousta, CEO of BEMIS Scotland, said: “The Multicultural Football Festival has been a distinctive collaborative initiative between the Scottish FA and BEMIS Scotland; it reflects another dimension to showcasing the Scottish FA’s and BEMIS’s commitment to promoting diversity and equality in Scottish football. 

“This year, the festival is aligned to celebrating the Year of Young People and we are excited to see so many diverse youth teams from across Scotland participating in this unique event.”

The Multicultural Football Festival begins at 11am on Saturday, 27 October at Toryglen Regional Football Centre in Glasgow.