IN a heart-stopping finale at Fesco Football Field on Spanish Town Road, Real City emerged champions of the Pocket Rocket Foundation Six-A-Side Football Competition, clinching victory 1-0 win over a resilient Basement team recently.

The Waterhouse-based football tournament made its return on October 17, after a three-year absence, and saw 16 teams competing for the $280,000 winning pot and other prizes.

“I am very pleased with how the competition turned out,” said Pocket Rocket Foundation founder, Olympian Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

“We are celebrating our 10th anniversary as a foundation and this competition has been a staple for many years. The community has really come together over the past several weeks to cheer on and support their favourite teams, which is exactly what we wanted to see.”

Real City Coach Lennoy Noble said: “It was a good day. Kudos to the Basement football team; they put up a good fight but, nevertheless, we came out victorious.”

The award ceremony saw the top three teams — Real City, Basement and Black Strikers — walking away with $280,000, $180,000 and $80,000, respectively.

Team Eurotrend added a touch of style to the competition, bagging the Best Dressed Team award and a cash prize of $15,000. Individual excellence was acknowledged, with the Digicel-sponsored Best Defender and Most Valuable Player going to Real City’s Oraine Blackwood and Ackeem Green, respectively.

“Defence is often overlooked, so this award is an honour. It’s a testament to the hard work we put in as a team,” Green said.

Blackwood agreed, saying: “Individual awards are great but it’s the team effort that got us here. This is a victory for all of Real City.”

Title sponsor Fesco contributed to the excitement by presenting a $10,000 gas gift certificate to Leading Goalscorer Lion Den’s Ackeem Brown, who also received a cellphone and phone credit courtesy of Digicel.

Meanwhile, unsung heroes of the tournament, the ball boys, had their moment of glory when they were presented with Digicel gift bags and $5,000 each.

The success of the six-a-side Peace Through Sports competition was underscored by the collaborative sponsorship of Fesco, Nike, Digicel, Wisynco (WATA, Powerade, and TruSHAKE brands), GraceKennedy, and Sanmerna Paper Products Foundation.

The Pocket Rocket Foundation Six-A-Side Football Competition stands as a testament to the unifying power of sports, bringing communities together in the pursuit of excellence and camaraderie.