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Friday 27 July – Day six

There's an eerie quiet about the Sports Village as I write this on my notepad: it's half past six and there isn't a single ball being kicked, not a single cheer nor yell to be heard. The Shrewsbury International Soccer Tournament's over for 2007, on a day when winners and losers in a rankings-sense were decided and appropriately rewarded. The truth is that you can't help but feel attached to an event when you've been involved so deeply as many of the players, coaches, parents and organisers have for the last week.

I'll leave the analysis of results and rankings for another time in my end-of-tournament review. It would be unfair of me to begin evaluating results just as play has finished: we'll let the dust settle on each of the competitions and talk seriously about the football at a later date. For now, let's relive some of the experiences of a day when the final shots in this year's tournament were fired.

Shrewsbury International Soccer Tournament - Day 4

With my media commitments – save for a few newspaper and internet commitments – aside, my job – with hilarious consequences – was to act as the PA man for the day, announcing the results, the winners and the losers as trophies and medals were handed out. I aimed to strike a balance between hardly talking at all on the microphone and sounding like one of those over-enthusiastic local radio disc-jockeys (which is no slight at all on Eric Smith of Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Radio Shropshire, incidentally, whose magnificent efforts in promoting the tournament have been greatly appreciated by tournament organisers).

Girls, boys, parents, coaches, dignitaries: the look of happiness, satisfaction, of hard work and the resulting reward is truly what football's about. And I saw it time and time again today, as one after another teams – as young as eight and as old as eighteen – collected their rewards for their hard work and for their determination. Hard work and its reward in football is something I describe using the example of Marco Tardelli, scorer of one of the greatest World Cup goals and participant in one of the most pure and natural celebrations ever in a World Cup final.

The 1982 final – played out in searing Spanish heat – saw Tardelli score in his side's win. He then ran the length of the pitch - arms outstretched, legs not at all tired by the physical toil of such an importance match – to join his fans in celebration. Hard work, persistence, celebration and the reward: that 1982 final is the perfect metaphor for those reaching the finals in the Shrewsbury International Soccer Tournament. From Toronto to Telford, each of the participants should be congratulated on their skill, their prowess, and the way of they've conducted themselves in the spirit of fair play.

It's hard to judge an event's success in its immediate aftermath: I'll let you all decide.

Five days, eighty-plus teams, girls, boys, internationals and amateurs – the Shrewsbury International Soccer Tournament has had it all. I hope through this diary you've been able to see inside the world of the organisers, those people that – against all conceivable odds – keep the event in existence and running from day-to-day. I hope you've also gained a greater insight into the work that goes into publicising a large-scale event, and that I may have inspired just one or two young writers to get their work published.

Reporting on an event, and journalism in its purest form, is not easy work: aside from the stories I've shared with you all about the tournament, there's been hours spent at computer screens, hours spent in taxis, and tens of hours spent chasing stories. For those young writers plugging away with a pen and a notepad, keep it up. It's your efforts that in future years will allow events of this magnitude – no matter what your interests – to be kept in the public consciousness.

I've learnt a lot from the experience, not least about how to be Alistair Campbell-esque in dealing with the media. Above all, however, I hope that you've all enjoyed the tournament as much as we have. If we've inspired just one or two youngsters to pick up a football or just to participate in sport as a whole, we can all rest easy at night knowing that we've done our job.

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