In May, Faith Associates ran an Eman Cup competition nationwide in partnership with the England and Wales Cricket Board. The competition's finals were played at the Home of Cricket with the Burhan Centre Madrassah Manchester taking home the trophy.
The Eman Cup takes Cricket to the heart of England's urban areas and saw over 50 teams from Mosques/Madrassahs participate. Faith Associates delivered five heats to select regional Madrassah cricket champions.
The first Tournament was held in the Bradford in late April at the world class Park Avenue Bradford Dome owned by Yorkshire County Cricket Club. On the 28th April at Old Trafford Indoor cricket academy in Manchester, the Lancashire regional tournament was held bringing eight Mosques from across the region together to compete to be crowned Lancashire Champions. The third regional tournament took place in early May, in partnership with Warwickshire County Cricket at Eden Leadership Academy with four teams participating to be crowned regional champions.
Over the May bank holiday weekend, the fourth instalment took place in Middlesex with seven teams participating to be crowned regional champions, with the Hayes Mosque running out winners from the Middlesex region and going on to represent the county in the national finals at Lord's. Congratulations to them on their success in the Middlesex competition and their achievement in making it to the national finals.
The last regional competition took place in Leyton, East London, in mid May, as the Essex sides had the chance to battle it out for a place in the finals at the Home of Cricket. .
Sabah Hamed ECB’s Diverse Communities, Volunteering Manager said; “The tournament is providing children (boys and girls aged 8-11) with an opportunity to play the beautiful game of cricket at iconic Cricket institutions such as Emirates Old Trafford and Lords Cricket Ground. These opportunities will inspire a new generation of children, with the final at Lords being a celebration day of excellence across five regions."
Hundreds of Muslin children students from Madrassah were involved in the competition that was the first of its kind, supported by the ECB. The tournament opens a key pathway and entry point for the next generation of players into the sport.
Shaukat Warraich, CEO of Faith Associates the organisers of the Eman Cup 2024, said “I see the Eman cup as a transformative project that will have a sustainable and lasting impact within the key communities involved".
On the 12th May, Five teams competed under "pairs" cricket rules during the finals at Lords, with the Manchester team winning a tense final against the Essex representatives.
Middlesex's regional representatives, Hayes Mosque, finished fourth in the finals, although finished the finals day as the highest run scorers and had the highest net run rate of all the finalists on the special day at Lord's, so can consider themselves very unlucky to have not finished in the top two. ,
Speaking to Salman Akhlaq the Under 11’s Captain for Burhan Centre Madrassah said “I'm so proud of my team and thankful to my Madrassah teacher and my dad for inspiring us, I hope I can play for England one and lift the World cup at Lords too”.
Angus Fraser, also supported the competition and provided the runners up and winners trophies as well as spending time with the children and teams throughout the day. Fraser commented: "We all want to see as many youngsters playing cricket as they can. Obviously, in London we aren't blessed with as many green open spaces as other parts of the country, so you try and make do, so you find a nice playground, set it up for a cricket match, and it's just wonderful to see all the youngsters playing enjoying the game, the competitiveness, and there are some decent cricketers around too."
You can watch highlights of the regional tournament, hosted by the Alex Reed Academy in Middlesex below...
