For the first-ever time, the Shankly Cup has come to Merseyside, uniting teams from Liverpool, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
Bill Shankly‘s legacy is all around us in Liverpool; the club wouldn’t be in the place it is today without his values, instilled in the 1960s, which run right through to the present day.
One of the ways in which fans have continued his legacy is through the Spirit of Shankly supporters’ union (SOS).
The supporters group run the Shankly Cup annually, a football tournament uniting junior teams from Merseyside, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
This year, for the first time, it came to Liverpool as SGA Internationals triumphed in the main Shankly Cup, while Marine took home the Shankly Shield.
The now former voice of Anfield, George Sephton, opened the event, while Shankly’s granddaughter, Karen Gill, and his niece, Barbara Alexander, were also in attendance.
The tournament was hosted at the Steven Gerrard Academy on Wyncote Sports Grounds in south Liverpool on June 28, with eight under-13 teams competing for the trophy.
Cumnock Juniors and Stewarton Annick came from East Ayrshire, near where Shankly was born and brought up in Glenbuck, while Lucan United travelled from Dublin for the occasion.
SGA Internationals, as well as the Steven Gerrard Academy, Marine, Marshalls, and Kingsley United, also took part, entering at the group stage before SGA Internationals beat their Steven Gerrard Academy counterparts on penalties after a 1–1 draw in the final.
SOS chairman Paul Khan said: “This is the first time that we’ve actually hosted the tournament in Liverpool. In all the previous years, it’s been hosted in East Ayrshire by Bill’s birthplace, Glenbuck.
“And I have to say, the people in East Ayrshire have been absolutely fantastic. The welcome they gave us, the hospitality, the organisation – they’ve been absolutely incredible.
“Most of all what we want to thank them for is the great gift they gave us which is the great man himself, Bill Shankly.”
Speaking about why the union set up the tournament, Khan added: “It’s basically to celebrate the great man’s legacy.
“Shankly was rooted basically in the community. He was a people person and he did so much for the people and the community, and we’re just trying to follow in his footsteps because this is what he’d want us to do.
“I’d like to think in a hundred years’ time, his memory will still be here and Spirit of Shankly will still be going.”
Each team received a commemorative pennant, while the winners took home a Shankly statue crafted by sculptor Tom Murphy, the artist behind the iconic statue of Shankly outside the Kop.
Donations were collected on the day by Fans Supporting Foodbanks, as Spirit of Shankly volunteers helped ensure the event ran smoothly from start to finish.
Fan Comments