WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! FOOTBALL TRIUMPH SMASHES CHARITY TARGET

KBS Corporate’s football squad achieved every goal they were aiming for in lifting the trophy at the Business Fives tournament in Manchester.

Not only did our talented players come out on top in a competition that featured 30 teams from local companies, but more importantly they also obliterated their fund-raising target for The Christie Charity.

Having aimed to raise £500 in donations, the KBS team more than quadrupled that total to benefit the Manchester hospital which is one of Europe’s largest cancer treatment centres of its type.

The Christie Charity was chosen in honour of Chloe McGreavy, who works for our fellow K3 Capital Group company Knightsbridge Commercial. In June 2023, Chloe received devastating news. But thanks to the incredible team at The Christie, Chloe was given the all-clear just before Christmas having remained extremely positive throughout and a real inspiration.

On February 14th, St Valentine’s Day, when many people were declaring their affection for their nearest and dearest, the KBS football team were showing how much they love scoring goals, keeping clean sheets – and winning matches.

In a Champions League-style format, they won their three 10-minute group games 5-0, 9-0 and 8-2. Those victories put them into the knockout stage, in which the squad of eight, skilfully rotated by manager Paul Gill, advanced to the final with three more shutouts – 4-0, 4-0 and 2-0.

The decider was against Leyton and, finishing 4-3, it provided a thrilling climax to the day’s action.

“The final was tough,” said Paul Gill, KBS Corporate Sales Director. “We were 4-1 up and then they scored two quick goals, so the last minute was quite a worry. That was the most memorable match because it was a close, tough game and on another day, they could have beaten us.”

One of the heroes of that showdown was goalkeeper Andy Melbourne, KBS Corporate Chief Financial Officer, who was selected as the player of the final by the event’s celebrity ambassador, former Manchester City and Scotland forward Paul Dickov.

“Andy was absolute class and their keeper made a howler for our first goal that put us ahead, so it could have been a different story,” added Paul. “And Shaun Conlon scored a screamer into the top left corner of the net that ended up being the decisive winning goal.”

Andy also received the Golden Glove award for most clean sheets kept during the tournament, conceding only five goals in seven matches.

Jacob Rigby was the team’s top scorer with nine goals while the manager also paid a glowing tribute to Jacobi Munane, KBS Corporate Sales Executive, who excelled despite playing through the pain barrier.

“Jacobi is probably our best player and was carrying a bit of a knee injury, so I had to rest him at times towards the end of the group matches,” explained Paul.

“In the quarter-final, we were 1-0 up and the opposition stuck five men behind the ball, but Jacobi scored a hat-trick to put us well in front.”

The KBS team now head for the Business Fives national finals in Leeds, where they will take on the cream of company teams from around the UK and Ireland.

However, the bigger picture is the money raised for charity, which was boosted way beyond the expectations at the outset.

“It was a really good experience from a football point of view for our team to be a part of the event but also to win it,” said Paul Gill. “On top of that, the bigger feat was to have raised so much money for a great charity in recognition of our colleague Chloe, who has been looked after so well by The Christie.

“It’s brilliant to have raised £2,209. A big thank you for all the donations from K3 Capital Group team members and their families and friends, and a sizeable donation from John Rigby, the Group Executive Chairman, in addition to the £350 prize money for winning the competition.

“I’m very proud of all the team and everyone who has contributed.”

The winning KBS Corporate squad (tournament goals in brackets)

Jacob Rigby (9)

Ben Delvard (6)

Shaun Conlon (6)

Jacobi Munane (5)

Nathaniel Read (5)

Sam Makin (5)

Kyle Harrison (1)

Andy Melbourne (5 clean sheets)