To support the 2018 World Cup bid submitted by England, City Hall developed a tournament that involved all 15 professional Clubs based in and around London.
Set at Chelsea FC’s training ground in Cobham, the friendly knock-out competition saw two teams (boys and girls) aged between 16 and 18, represent Fulham Football Club Foundation for a chance to claim a trophy for being the best team in the capital.
The boys team was the first to kick-off with the participating male squads being split into three leagues. They played four matches in total, winning one, drawing two and losing one, meaning they finished second in their group behind Charlton, narrowly missing out on the semi-finals.
The girls team flew the flag for Fulham, getting through to the final after winning three, drawing two and losing only one game in their qualifiers. They took on Charlton for the coveted title, taking the game to penalties after a 0-0 deadlock after extra time. Unfortunately the girls lost 3-2 in the shoot-out but did the Foundation extremely proud.
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London and Chairman of London United, said: "London is unquestionably the world's number one footballing city. Wherever you go you are surrounded by people of all ages who are, quite frankly, bonkers about the game.
"The community programs run by our clubs are amongst the best tools for social and community development that we have in London and, through this London United tournament and the ongoing London United Community Partnership initiative, I am determined to do what I can to support the fantastic work they are doing."
The event was the first public demonstration of the proposed ‘London United’ partnership and was a great day for all of those involved.