Welcome to the Geneva’s Cup 2024 – the 7th instalment of an extraordinary International Powerchair Football Tournament, proudly organised by Goals Beyond Grass International. Set against the picturesque backdrop of Geneva, this competition promises to be a celebration of skill, passion, and inclusivity.

Scheduled to unfold from August 23rd to 25th, 2024, Geneva’s Cup is a testament to the unwavering commitment of GBG Geneva, in collaboration with the Association of Powerchair Football Geneva and the incredible Organising Team. With the gracious support of the Ville de Genève and the Swiss Powerchair Football Association (SPFA), we are excited to welcome 10 dynamic teams to compete in what is sure to be a thrilling 7th edition.

Taking centre stage at the Sports Center de la Queue d’Arve in Geneva, we will host simultaneous games, creating an electrifying atmosphere for players, supporters, and families alike. This year, we continue our partnership with the RAMADA ENCORE, offering participants a comfortable stay in a 3.5-star hotel just minutes away from the action.

As we strive for excellence, a highlight of the tournament is the Referee & Assistant Referee Clinic, providing a unique opportunity for individuals to enhance their skills under the guidance of seasoned officials. To amplify the experience, all matches will be streamed live, fostering a deeper connection between the audience and the participating teams.

The festivities extend beyond the field, with delectable meals served on-site, a spectacular Gala Dinner, and the much-anticipated Awards Ceremony, all hosted at the Event Center of Ramada Encore. With the theme of “Sharing – Inclusion – Fun,” Geneva’s Cup 2024 is not just a competition; it’s a celebration of the power of sports to unite, inspire, and create lasting memories.

Join us for this unforgettable weekend where athletes, accompanying staff, and the public come together to make Geneva’s Cup 2024 a resounding success. Secure your spot now and be part of the magic that defines this remarkable international tournament.

CPFC Coach Jeremy Bullock is undertaking an epic challenge with a motley crew of his friends. Our team of fundraising heroes are heading from John O’Groats on the 4th July and ending at Lands End on the 12th July. All the money rasied from this incredible feet will be donated to GBG and CPFC.

Not only is Jeremy one of our coaches but he is also Development Superstar Gemma’s Dad. Gemma was one of our earliest players to join CPFC and has been ever present and popular player since

Jeremy, Chris, Dave and Dave aims to raise £1,000.00 for Goals Beyond Grass, by taking part in Multi-day Cycle Challenge from the 4th July 2019 until the 12th July 2019. You can support them on this here https://www.goldengiving.com/fundraising/jogleforgbg?fbclid=IwAR2dz9StTeS2lpKl-vpYUyo9FPvcchsSK_HNPiJsA5bf8S8Iqz3wttjzYBo

Day 1 – John O’ Groats to Alnes (Thursday 4th July)

Day 2 – Alnes to Dunkeld

Day 3 – Dunkeld to Jedburgh

Day 4 – Jedburgh to Northallerton

Day 5 – Northallerton to Halifax

Day 6 – Halifax to Bridgnorth

Day 7 – Bridgnorth to Burnham on Sea (coming past Gloucester this day)

Day 8 – Burnham to Boscastle

Day 9 – Boscastle to Lands End (Friday 12th July)

Even though Goals Beyond Grass is a young charity, we have reached heights we could have only dreamed of when we started. In our few years we have reached many milestones from setting up 5 competitive Powerchair teams, setting up the Outreach programme and hosting our Summer camps.

But we have now something very exciting to announce. Goals Beyond Grass has gone International!

GBG was approached by Kelly Dos Santos, Nathalie Deplace and Didier Giubergia who had seen the activities that GBG had been doing at Conferences and on social media and approached us to ask if they could take GBG to France and Switzerland.

GBG CEO Brian Dix has said “The work we have done is fairly unknown and not be done before. Powerchair Football is a young sport and mainly been played as a competitive sport. We have taken the inclusive nature of this amazing sport and taken it to other groups who are excluded from mainstream sport. For this to be taken over to Switzerland and France under our name is truly humbling.”

Goals Beyond Grass International will now take shape as they develop their own programmes but we are delghted to support them on this journey (and coming over to Geneva for training).

Didier from GBG International added “We are really happy to be part of the GBG family now and we can’t wait to be working with Brian Dix and his team on a daily basis to develop the same activities here in Switzerland but also around Europe. We would like to thank Brian for his awesome support and sharing with all of us his passion for Powerchair Football. We are already working on lots of projects and we are really pleased to announce that we will be doing very soon our first session in a nursing home. Bigger project also to come with GBG International being involved in the organisation of the 2019 GBG Geneva’s Cup, which is an awesome tournament taking place end of August in Geneva with the participation of 10 European teams.

Everybody should be able to come, see and try Powerchair Football, and this is the main goal we want to achieve every day… Lots of projects of sharing between England and Switzerland too that make it so exciting for the next years, following one and unique goal : INCLUSION”

We would formally like to welcome Didier, Natalie and Kelly to the GBG Family, it’s our honour!

Follow GBG International on Facebook to keep up with all the developments 

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Goals-Beyond-Grass-Int-814951142189840

Goals Beyond Grass are very happy to announce that Julie Kent has joined the GBG Team. Julie is a long time friend of the charity and has been an integral part of the GBG family for a while now but is now firmly involved. Julie will act as an ambassador for us but also be a trustee helping us take the charity forward.

Julie said “I am honoured to be asked to be the Ambassador and Trustee for Goals beyond Grass based in Gloucestershire. I first met them when, as a member of the Honourable Company of Gloucestershire and as Vice Chairman of the Pied Piper Appeal I went along to a training session to see a Powerchair that we had bought in action. I was struck by the range of ages of young disabled people playing Powerchair football with enthusiasm and determination. It is the most important thing in their lives. Brian Dix the founder is even more passionate than them and has grown the charity massively over the last few years with even more to come. I am looking forward to being part of what is to come!

Welcome to the team Julie, we are proud to have you!

Well it has been a busy for Team GBG. Not only have we been running sessions at a number of venues to new people around Gloucestershire but we’ve also been getting our gladrags on.

We were nominated for a number of local awards in a number of ceremonies . Last week we went to National Star for the Local Business Charity Awards. Our good friends RED Transport and Logistics were nominated for an award for all the great work they do for us. Unfortunately we came runners up on this occasion but it was a brilliant night with our sponsors and other friends of GBG in attendance.

Next up was the prestigious Cheltenham Awards 2018 at Cheltenham Town Hall. The full GBG team were in attendance due to our nomination for the Community Project Award and our CEO Brian Dix’s nomination in the Outstanding Contribution to Cheltenham category. Once again we were unsuccessful for these awards but it was an honour to be nominated and have no hard feelings in finishing runners up to some fantastic causes and people.

Earlier this month the European Powerchair Football Association held a referee’s course in preparation for The European Champions Cup in Denmark. The course was 2 days of intense powerchair football designed to put the Referees that had flown in through their paces with players from all over England in attendance.

The event was held at Chosen Hill School in Gloucestershire, this is in no small part down to the county being the home of GBG. GBG CEO Brian Dix stated “Having an organisation like EPFA come to Gloucestershire to get ready for a major tournament is fantastic. It gives me and my guys huge satisfaction as it is clear that we are clearly doing something right and that and we are catching the eye of the powerchair world and they want to see how we are doing what we do”.

Due to GBG’s role in the assisting the running of the event, a number of CPFC and GBG players were invited to come and partake in the 2 days activities. This is huge for our coaches as a number of these players came to us having never heard of the sport and now are playing alongside the elite players in the UK including former England World Cup sqaud members and really hold their own. GBG’s Development officer who is also Cheltenham Powerchair Head Coach Kieran Franks added “I can’t believe how far some of our players have come, I’m so proud of their attitude in these sessions as they are far more intense than our usual sessions but every single one of them has done themselves and us proud and looked every bit an elite powerchair player”.

The President of the European Powerchair Football Association Donal Byrne said on the event “We were very pleased with the recent international referee training event hosted in Cheltenham, and our thanks to Brian and the guys at Goals Beyond Grass who in no small measure helped make the event one to remember for all who took part and who came along to help”.

All of us at GBG would like to wish EPFA and all those involved in the Champions Cup good luck and hope everyone has a fantastic time!

It was recently the Gloucestershire FA Community Awards for 2018 at The Bristol. In previous years GBG and CPFC have been regulars and done extremely well collecting a number of awards over the years. This year one of the coaches that supports us from one of the clubs that we help govern was nominated for Coach of the Year.

We are very happy to announce that Tim Butler was successful and was named Coach of the Year for Gloucestershire. Tim has been involved with Powerchair Football for a number of seasons and combine his volunteering at the club alongside his studies at the University of Gloucestershire. He has grown into an extremely popular coach amongst both the senior teams and also in particular the Development players.

 We are very proud of Tim and think it is absolutely fantastic that a powerchair football coach has won this award. This is another indication of the progress that the sport has been going through over the past few years.

Please join us in congratulating Tim on this fantastic honour.

Last month Goals Beyond Grass were recipients of an award at the Rotary in Gloucester Community Awards. Jack and Harry were in attendance to collect the cheque and award on behalf of the GBG Family and had a fantastic time.

In the photo above you can see Jack collecting the award from Roger Head, the award is now hanging proudly in the GBG Office.

The Rotary in Gloucester Community Awards are organised by the four Rotary Clubs in the city – Gloucester, Rotary@Kingsholm, Gloucester Severn, and Gloucester Quays.

The aim of the Community Awards programme is to support organisations within the city area with a small grant which ‘will make a real difference’.

And that it is exactly what GBG are going to do with the grant being used to take our sport to places and people who have previously not had access.

Once again a huge thank you to all the Rotarians who make a real difference to so many – you are all fantastic!

Goals Beyond Grass would like to pass on their gratitude to the Gloucestershire Community Foundation and the High Sheriff Grant Programme for accepting our grant application.

This acceptance is funding for our outreach programme enabling to visit more schools in Gloucestershire! This significant level of funding means that more kids who may feel excluded from sport can now partake in a truly inclusive game and perhaps find out for the first time.

GBG CEO Brian Dix said “This grant is absolutely fantastic for GBG and all the young lads and ladies who will get to participate in this sport we love and hopefully learn to love it as well. I have to pass on my thanks to GCF and the High Sheriff and his office for awarding us this funding and enabling us to do what we love.”

So we have the chairs, we have the funding, we have the coaches, now we need to find the right school to benefit!

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