Over £2,137 was raised for charities across Scotland as the footballing contingent of the Technology & IT sector gathered in Edinburgh, a total which took Business Fives over its £10,000 summer season target as it reached the half way mark of the season.

Supported by industry partners ScotlandIS and sponsors White Tree Chiropractic, the event was a goal fest averaging out at just under 6 goals a game across the 24 matches.  Companies taking part were all playing with one goal in mind, to win for their chosen charity with organisations such as CLIC Sargent, the Homeless World Cup Foundation, Kids in Sport and Down’s Syndrome Association just a few of the charities benefiting.

A commendable fundraising effort from eventual champions league semi-finalists, Pulsant raised £550 for their chosen charity, CLIC Sargent who help support children and families affected by cancer.  Dacoll raised a brilliant £286 for Kids in Sport as they qualified from the heat via the champions league.  In their first outing at Business Fives both Zonal teams reached their respective semi-finals and raised £300 for Hope for Children in the build-up.

The tournament has introduced a tiered system and Avaloq took advantage of the new qualification route by winning the Europa League final, raising £245 for Down’s Syndrome Association along the way.  Europa League finalists, Houseology raised £150 for Shelter and group runners up Freeagent raised £75 for Redwoods Caring Foundation.

The event finished with a Q & A session with Business Fives ambassadors Pat Stanton, Gary Mackay and Rhonda Jones.  The trio of Scottish internationals shared stories from their glittering careers.   Rhonda has just been recognised in Hampdens Hall of Fame for winning 117 caps for Scotland, scoring 4 goals from centre half.  Pat, a legend amongst Hibs fan having made almost 400 appearances for them in a career that saw him play against greats of the game like Eusebio, Johan Cruyff and George Best who he singled out as the best of his generation.  Mackay, who holds the records for the most ever appearances in a Hearts strip, called for the club to appoint the right manager to lead the club forward.  He also thinks Scottish football is lucky to have such a special manager in Brendan Rodgers and that every manager in the country should be trying to learn his formula for success.

Tournament sponsor, Dr Gary Blackwood said “We here at White Tree Chiropractic are delighted to have the opportunity to work alongside Business Fives, as we see sport and exercise as an integral part of healthy working offices.  We all know that exercise is one of the best ways to prevent ill-health, lowering blood pressure, raising energy levels and improving productivity and focus.”

The tournament initially saw 3 groups playing to qualify for the Champions League, Europa League and Intertoto Cup group stages.   Dacoll, Cooper Software and Pulsant set the benchmarks as they booked their place in the Champions League group stages.  Houseology, Freeagent and a team from Zonal were the best of the rest as they reached the Europa League groups.

The champions league saw everyone take points of each other as the sides had to be separated by goal difference with Cooper Software eventually topping the group thanks to an impressive 7-0 win over Pulsant.  Zonal topped their Europa League as they booked a semi-final showdown with Dacoll hoping to reverse an earlier 2-1 defeat.  They couldn’t manage the feat as Dacoll continued their form winning by the same margin as they booked their place in the national finals.

In the final, a stunning performance from Patrick Kelly, singled out by the Business Fives ambassadors as the man of the match drove his side to victory over Dacoll, reversing the result in their earlier meeting to win a very close match 2-1.  Cooper Software will now go on to the final hoping add to their £100 fundraising total for the Homeless World Cup Foundation.

Over in the Europa League it was Avaloq who found their form recording 4 back to back wins over PureLiFi, Zonal and Freeagent helped largely to goals from Olly Howell and Gordon Allan with the latter finishing top scorer for the heat on 12.   Houseology also booked their spot in the Europa League final with a semi-final win over Zonal.  The final was a thriller with both sides locked at 4-4 until an infringement in the box handed Avaloq a penalty which they took full advantage of eventually running out 6-4 winners to secure their place at the national final in September as the second intertoto cup champions to progress.

The action continues this month with 4 more industry sector qualifiers across Glasgow and Edinburgh as the tournament now aims to double its original £10,000 target for charitable causes throughout Scotland.  Follow all the action online on the Business Fives social media channels and website.