Tournaments Cologne 2010 - Gay Games The Gay Games which takes place every 4 years has finally come round and Stonewall FC are proud to achieve a 3rd successive Gay Games Gold in the mens football Division 1. On July 30th, 50 members including players, partners & friends travelled to the Gay Games, entering two teams into the Men's football Division 1 & Division 2. The Stonewall Lions (Div 1 -1st team) defended their title in Cologne following their success 4 years ago winning gold at the Chicago Gay Games 2006. Stonewall FC, who were one of the tournament favorites got off to a slow start after losing their first game 3 – 2 to Milan (Italy). However, after the initial scare they raised their game and continued through the tournament without defeat and scoring freely. In the week long tournament in Cologne, teams competed from across the globe. Teams from Germany, Italy and USA competed in the semi final resulting in the English v USA clash in the final played in a stadium next to Colognes home ground. Stonewall FC are now British, European, World and Gay Olympic Champions! Full Report Stonewall London Apprentices entered into Division 2 and had a great week of football playing 2 games a day. The Stonewall Apprentices had a mix of results but got off to a great start winning their games. One day of must win games saw the team go out at the group stages where they narrowly missed out losing 2 games by 1-0. After the disappoint of this the team picked themselves up and reflected on the high & lows of brillaint week of football. Washington DC 2009 After the success Stonewall FC had in London last year the intention would be to travel to Washington DC to defend the World Cup trophy. Even with the difficult financial challenges that are on us in 2009, Stonewall FC managed to get a 1st team together to travel to Washington DC. Once arriving in the USA it was evident that the heat would play a big part in this tournament due to the hot sun and high temperatures, whilst playing back to back games. With a squad of 17 every player knew they would play a part in this tournament, as to get to a final in such heat would be a battle. Stonewall's London Lions won every game they played but found teams to be very strong defensively, often making the lions wait for that late goal that eventually came. After some strong group games, quarters and a 90 minute semi, the Lions won a place in the final against United FC. A hot mid day kick off meant a hard final was on the cards. The London Lions missed a chance in the first half and a penalty in the second, which meant extra time, would be played. Thankfully in the opening minutes a long throw saw Stonewall run through to head home a goal. The lions then played the game out protecting the 1-0 lead to earn them a very hard fought victory in Washington DC. London 2008 This year saw the Gay World Championship hosted by London. Stonewall FC had 3 teams entering and were eager to keep the Gay World Cup at home in England. The Stonewall Lions (1st Team) entered Division 1and managed to take an outstanding 1st team through this tournment without conceding a goal in the whole competition. They eventually got to face Argentina in the finals at Leyton Orient Matchroom Stadium in East London. The 90 minute match kicked off and Stonewall Lions continued their fine display of football throughout the final and won 5-0 giving Stonewall FC the title of Gay World Champions! The Stonewall Apprenctices entered into Division 2, where they convincingly made their way into the division 2 final against Leicester. They went to a nail biting 3-3 and penalities had to settle the result, with Leicester hitting the winner home, giving the Stonewall Apprentices a Silver medal. The 3rd team, Stonewall Wreckers had also made a great weeek of it, winning, drawing and losing some games, but eventually finding themselves drawn against the Stonewall Apprentices, where they were defeated and knocked out by 3-0. All the teams did very well and Stonewall FC put on a superb display all week long. Barcelona 2008 - Eurogames Stonewall FC took two teams to compete in the Eurogames this year. It was a great achievement as Stonewall London Lions brought back a Gold after convincingly making their way to the final against Cologne. The Stonewall London Lions beat Cologne 2-0 at a local football stadium. A second success also came for Stonewall FC as the team 2 (Stonewall London Apprentices) made their way into the final of division 2 against Belgium. The full time whistle ended 1-1and the London Apprentices went on to win in a nail biting penalty shoot out. - Congratulations to both teams! Buenos Aires 2007 This year the IGLFA held the gay world cup championship over in South America for the first time in it's history. Stonewall FC got a team together to compete and protect their title of world champions. It was a 6 day long tournament in which Stonewall made their way in to the final that was held in a football club stadium and turned out to be a great event. After half time SFC kept the score at 0-0 but conceded in the 2nd half to make it 1-0. Stonewall battled on trying to get a goal and did score, but it was to be ruled off side. After tired legs and a long week the 90 minutes ended at 1-0 to Los Dogos, an Argentina team. This was a fantastic tour and it was great to see the support that both teams had on the day of the final. Chicago 2006 - Gay Games Stonewall FC took one squad out to compete in the biggest event in gay sport. The Gay Games is held every 4 years and is attended by thousands of people both spectators and participants. In July 2006 Stonewall FC contended for the title of World and Olympic Champions, making their way into the final un-beaten. The final was against Florida and Stonewall FC battled into extra time with the score of 0-0. In the first half of extra time Florida went 1-0 up, but Stonewall still kept their heads and continued playing strong. After having one goal dis-allowed in extra time, Stonewall then went on to score 3 goals in the last 10 minutes, making the final score 3-1 to Stonewall FC - Champions. Full Report Munich 2004 - Eurogames In a reverse of last years final - the London Lions were beaten 2-0 by Cream Team Cologne in July 04. Stonewall took over 40 people to Munich for the weekend tournament. The London Apprentices finished in 7th place. 16 teams took part in the mens event. Copenhagen 2003 - Eurogames Stonewall FC took a team (The London Lions) to the Eurogames in Copenhagen. The Eurogames is like a mini Gay Games but obviously just for Europe. The Lions got into the semi final without too much trouble where they met Denmark - and beat them 6-0. The final was once again against arch rivals Cologne and once again the London Lions came out on top with a 1-0 victory. Well done to all the players involved - players came from all 4 teams in the club. Sydney 2002 - Gay Games The Gay Games are held every 4 years, taking place in Sydney in November of 2002. Stonewall FC took 3 teams to the event. The London Lions, London Apprentices and the London Wreckers. The Wreckers side was a truly international affair - with players from the the US and Australia joining us. We returned from Sydney with 2 medals. The London Lions took gold winning all 9 of their games and defeating Munich 4-0 in the final. The London apprentices took silver after a heart breaking penalty shoot out loss against Team America's The whole event was a huge success. Many thanks to everyone involved. London 2001 Last August saw the largest ever gay sporting event take place here in London. The 11th IGLFA World Championships were held at the University of Westminster Sports Ground in Chiswick. Over 500 players took part in the week long event and the matches were watched by thousands during the tournament. Stonewall FC spearheaded the running and organising of the tournament - a process that took over 2 years to ready. There were 3 competitions. Men's Division 1, Men's Division 2 and the Women's Competition. The Women's Competition was won by Aztec Parma, the Men's Division 2 was won by Team America and Division 1 was won by Stonewall FC's first team Ð The London Lions, winning it for the second year running. It was a fantastic event that generated huge interested from both the gay and national media. Many thanks to everyone who was involved with help making London 2001 such a huge success.