GSL hosts fantastic 2023 Summer Tournament Series
The summer of 2023 saw the return of our hugely popular GSL Summer Tournament Series, which was delivered in partnership with our tournament sponsors, Xero. This year’s Tournament Series was unique, with our players and their clubs coming together to celebrate the 2023 Women’s World Cup taking place in Australia and New Zealand!
Our 2023 tournaments took place across three different locations in North, West and South London. In step with the growth of the women’s game, our GSL tournaments saw a record breaking total of 1200+ players from 30 local clubs taking part in our competitions. Alongside the tournament matches, there were an array of fantastic workshops, activities and raffles for all to enjoy.
We are so grateful to our tournament sponsor, Xero, as our summer series would not have been possible without their support. The Xero team joined us at our tournaments to showcase their fantastic accounting services and also shared plenty of giveaways, such as water bottles and footballs. Xero have become a vital supporting partner in the girls football community, especially among grassroots football clubs.
Our first Summer Tournament Series event kicked off at our North London venue on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th June. This was the largest tournament of the series, hosting 8 divisions from U9s to U16s. The display of super skills, fitness and some cracking goals was extremely impressive. The following weekend, we ventured to South London and West London for two more days of sun, fun and football!
The teams got the chance to compete in group stage games before reaching the knockout stages. As each age groups’ tournament came to a close, after hard fought battles on the pitch, and tremendous shows of sports-womanship, it was time for the awards presentation. The winners got a chance to lift the GSL summer series trophy and medals were awarded!
The excitement didn’t stop there as all participants were entered into a raffle where they had the chance to win some top-class prizes such as official Lioness jerseys, mini world cup replica footballs, and books by Beth Mead and Leah Williamson.
Following on from the tournament games the girls had the opportunity to get creative and refresh at the workshop and food stations. The workshops included a tie-dye station, which allowed the girls to produce their very own original design of their choosing on our GSL T-shirts.
The girls were all smiles, getting creative in our off-pitch workshops, which reflected a distinct change from their fierce competition in their matches. We were lucky to have athlete and artist Rosanna with us to run a banner painting workshop, which gave girls the chance to leave individual boot prints on our “Good Luck Lionesses” and “The Next Gen at GSL” banners, alongside their personalised messages. Our “Good Luck” banner even made it to the Lionesses before they headed out to Australia!
All in all, it was an unforgettable summer series, and we hope these tournaments will continue to help engage girls in football well beyond the summer. It was incredible to see the fantastic level of football showcased by all the players, and we now focus our efforts on the 2023-24 season!