Wavenet City are one step away from representing England at the Corporate World Cup after winning the Midlands Regional Finals of The Big Goal run by the Street Soccer Foundation and hosted alongside Derby County FC Community Trust on 9th May at the Derby Racecourse Centre.
Undefeated in the heats, Wavenet City overcame LANtern Tech 4-0 in their semi-final and beat Welcomm Communications in the final 3-0 to lift the Midlands Regional trophy. They will now go through to The Big Goal National Finals to be staged at St George’s Park – The Home of England Football – on 26 September. If they win that, they will be jetting off to Fez in Morocco for the Federation of Corporate Football (FIFCO) World Cup on 22nd-26th October and will have the honour of wearing the Three Lions, competing against 15 other business teams from all over the world.
Wavenet Player Manager Aaron Drake commented:
“We qualified for the nationals last year and were unfortunately beaten in the semi-final. This year we fielded two teams, Wavenet City and Wavenet United and our City team did us proud. The tournament was brilliantly organised and to win it was amazing. The whole company is buzzing about our success and after beating last year’s winners Virgin Media Business in the heats, we believe we have a great chance of winning the nationals and representing England at the Corporate World Cup. That must be the best incentive ever.
“The Big Goal is a marvellous initiative. Sponsors like us help disadvantaged young people change their lives via the academies run by the Street Soccer Foundation, and that social impact meets our ESG perspectives perfectly. I would urge every company in our industry to sign up and take part next year.”
Andrew Greenwood, Head of Personal Development at the Street Soccer Foundation and Tournament Lead on the day, said:
“Competition and community came together for our third and final regionals tournament at Derby County and the atmosphere exceeded all expectations. The football, the environment and support, the energy and impact, and even the weather; the enjoyment and the camaraderie created by our participating teams was world class. It’s a privilege to help drive positive change and we are extremely grateful to everyone involved in The Big Goal.”
Other qualifiers for the nationals were semi-finalists Welcomm Communications, Virgin Media Wholesale, LANtern Tech and Cameo, who beat BDR Group 3-0 in the plate final. The Golden Boot Award went to Josh Clamp from LANtern Tech, Andy Skeels from Rydal Group won the Golden Gloves Award and Jordan Puopolo from BDR Group was named Player of the Tournament. Derby based Jola secured the Spirit of the Tournament Award.
Keith Mabbutt, CEO of the Street Soccer Foundation said afterwards:
“The Midlands Finals have been a fantastic success. All teams played in such a great manner. Of course people want to win and make it through, but there was a real genuine understanding why everyone was there at the event, the chance to compete whilst knowing their team are sponsoring young lives through our Academy programme. We now have the full fifteen teams all set to take part at the Nationals, which promises to be the most incredible occasion.”
Terry O’Brien CEO of The Big Goal headline sponsor Giacom added:
“The tournaments have been brilliant, all played in tremendous spirit and they have demonstrated what our vision was at the foundation of The Big Goal; to bring our industry together and help homeless and disadvantaged young people across the UK. This truly is the industry united together for a common cause. Roll on the finals at St George’s Park!”
Following the Southern, Northern and Midlands tournaments staged alongside Brentford FC, Sheffield Wednesday FC, and Derby County FC respectively, these teams have qualified for the Nationals at St George’s Park: ANS Group, Cameo, Comms Dealer, Daisy Communications, Elite Group, Focus Group, Giacom, ICT Reverse, LANtern Tech, Onecom, PXC North, Sky Business South, Virgin Media Business, Wavenet and Welcomm Communications.
All the winners at the Midlands Regionals were:
- Wavenet City – Midlands Regional Champions
- Cameo – Plate Winners
- Josh Clamp, Lantern Tech – Golden Boot Award
- Andy Skeels, Rydal Group – Golden Glove Award
- Jordan Puopolo, BDR Group – Player of the Tournament
- Jola – Spirit of the Tournament Award
For all the results, visit the 2025 Regionals page.
