Gallery: King’s plays host to annual tournament

On Wednesday, 19 March, King’s was privileged to play host to the Independent School Football Association (ISFA) Barry Burns Northern Eights competition, welcoming 17 visiting teams from schools across the North of England. 

The long-established, annual tournament is named for Barry Burns, former ISFA chairman who passed away in 2020. Barry’s son Jimmy was present at the tournament today, along with a number of ISFA representatives and the tournament sponsors, Inspiresport.

Reflecting on a fantastic day of football, Director of Sport, Richard Lunn, commented on the spirit in which the teams played.  

He said: “One of things that always stands out at the Barry Burns Northern Eights is the sportsmanship; it is always played in a spirit of friendly competition.

“The perfect weather added to the success of the day and it is a source of great pride that we received so many positive comments about the superb condition of our pitches, the credit for which goes to our brilliant groundsmen.”

The 2025 Barry Burns cup was won by Manchester Grammar School in a nail-biting sudden death penalty shoot out against Queen Ethelburga’s School. 

Congratulations also go to the home team who won the plate competition against Cheadle Hulme. 

Click on the image below for a full gallery of pictures from the tournament, with credit to Jack Cavill from Inspiresport for the photographs: