OVER 1,200 primary school children from across the Scottish Borders participated in the 15th Live Borders Festival of Football held at Netherdale on Sunday.

The annual Festival is one of biggest participation events in Scotland and the largest event of its kind in the South East Region with a total of 110 teams taking part in a round robin contest.

The event also featured the cup final of the SBJFA 13s, where Earlston Rhymers JFC and Hawick Youth FC contested the Bruce Scott Trophy.

The SWFL Central Division 2 league clash also took place between Hawick United Ladies Colts and West Park United which was preceded by the SBJFA Girls only section.

Organised by charitable trust Live Borders in conjunction with the SBJFA, the Festival honours the memory of Selkirk teenager, Cameron Gunn who died whilst playing football aged 19 in 1991.

Unfortunately, this year’s Cameron Gunn Trophy match for SBJFA 15s had to be postponed due to a clash of fixtures for some of the players but Cameron’s parents Wilma and Kenneth Gunn were on hand throughout to raise awareness and funds for the Scottish HART charity.

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

“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.

“It takes our team months of hard work to organise the event but always in the forefront of their minds is the memory of Cameron Gunn and how the event raises both awareness and money for Scottish HART.”

The Live Borders Football Development department first became involved in 2003 when approached by Scottish HART to help deliver the Cameron Gunn Adult Football Tournament.

However, from 2004 the event became a celebration of children’s and youth football.

Drew Kelly, Scottish FA Development Officer, added: “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 we are really grateful for all the help and support they provided.”

Played out on the 3G Arena the SWFL Central Division 2 match between Hawick United Colts and Glasgow-based West Park United allowed the Borders ladies to showcase their talent with a stunning 5-1 victory.

Goal scorers for Hawick were, Kelly Moffat, Katie McKinnon, Nikki Farrell, Mariyana Hamilton and Emily Rodgers with McKinnon being named Woman of the Match.

Next up on the 3G was the SBJFA 13s Cup Final for the Bruce Scott Trophy which saw another end-to-end battle between Borders rivals Earlston Rhymers and Hawick Youth FC. This time around it was the Hawick team who won out with a narrow 3-2 victory. Scoring for Hawick were Dylan Oliver and captain Rhys Elliot (2) while Ryan Bell and Liam Sowman scored for Earlston.

“We started slowly but improved as the game went on,” said Rhys, “our passing was really good and it was a great team effort.”

Clubs taking part in the Festival of Football: Ancrum JFC, Chirnside JFC, Coldstream JFC, Duns JFC, Earlston JFC, Eyemouth JFC, Gala Fairydean Rovers JFC, Hawick YFC, Kelso JFC, Lauderdale JFC, Leithen Vale JFC, Linton Hotspur JFC, Melrose JFC, Peebles JFC, Selkirk JFC, Tweedbank JFC.