Rain didn’t dampen the spirits as footballers from across Stanthorpe and around the region headed to the International ground in Stanthorpe on Saturday for the third annual International Festival of Football.
The games celebrate the heritage of many of the local football players, picked from clubs across the Stanthorpe competition and for the first time all club games were suspended for the weekend for the festival of football.
Unfortunately while the first four games, the Fillies, Over 35s, Women’s and Men’s Games were able to be played. It was decided that their might be damage to the field if a fifth game was played and so the second annual IComply Cup, between local farm workers from Vanuatu and Fiji was cancelled. It ended up being the only seniors football played across the Granite Belt and Southern Downs with the Warwick Women’s Qld Premier League match postponed (the men had a bye).
In the end though, despite the rain, football (and some would say Italy) won the day.
Organising committee member Julie-Ann Spiller and Stanthorpe Today/Warwick Today’s Samantha Wantling braved the, at times, torrential rain to capture all the action.