The football community is set to come together for a worthy cause on Sydney's Northern Beaches in support of this month's Tombsy Cup.
Entries are open for all interested teams to take part in the seven-a-side tournament, which is set to take place at Cromer Park on Saturday 27th March.
While the event was unfortunately cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19, the inaugural Cup in 2019 saw the community come together to raise over $100,000 for the Guns Out Spinal Foundation, which was started after Richard Tombs suffered a life-changing spinal injury in 2018.
Tombs, a former Australian rugby player, was diagnosed with a 'C4 incomplete spinal' injury and spasticity following a collision while playing goalkeeper for the Curl Curl FC over 35's.
As he continues his inspirational recovery efforts, Tombs created the foundation to support those affected by muscle spasticity and spinal cord injuries, kicking off a movement to raise awareness and help fund research to find a cure.
The first edition of the tournament culminated in an entertaining celebrity game featuring the likes of Craig Johnston, Steve Waugh, Adam Goodes, Nick Farr-Jones, Alex Tobin, Steve Corica, Ufuk Talay and Terry McFlynn.
Socceroos Head Coach Graham Arnold also attended in support of the event.
"It was a fantastic day all-round," Arnold said.
"Richard is great guy, I see him when I ride a bike around Narrabeen Lake, and he rides a bike around with his arms. He's a very fit human being and he's doing exceptionally well.
"It's crazy how he played all those years at rugby and he then decides to go and play football as a goalkeeper and that's where he got injured. It's sad that it had to happen at all, let alone on the football field.
"But it's a great day and gesture to support the cause and I'm sure there will be great support from the Northern Beaches people."
This year's event is calling on all interested grassroots teams to support the cause and take part in the seven-a-side tournament as part of their preparations for the 2021 season.
