Lincoln City Football Club

Lincoln City FC’s Youth Academy hosted an array of football clubs from across the football spectrum last weekend when the 2013 Keith Alexander Memorial Tournament took place in Lincoln.

The tournament, now in its third year, was the biggest yet with eight clubs competing in the Under 14 event on Saturday and 12 clubs contesting the Under 16 title on Sunday. And for the first time, the tournament saw clubs from the city’s local grassroots competing against Premiership and Championship academies.

Head of Youth Damian Froggatt said: "Keith Alexander will be widely remembered for his remarkable play-off seasons with Lincoln City but this tournament is an opportunity to remember him for how he bridged the gap between local non-league football and the elite level. He was respected at every level of football and was a true ambassador for the game."

Norwich City, making their debut in the tournament, claimed the Under 14 trophy defeating Hull City in the final, and it was a clean sweep for the Canaries with Glen Middleton claiming the Richard Butcher Award for Player of the Tournament.

Sunday’s Under 16 event, meanwhile, proved to be a day of giant killing with local sides St Helen’s and Lincoln United reaching the semi-finals, only to be defeated by Burton Albion and Grimsby respectively.

Burton claimed the trophy in a hard-fought final while Boston United’s Alex Dempster won the Richard Butcher Award.

"Lincoln City FC would like to thank all those clubs – coaches, parents, players, volunteers and supporters - who took part in this year’s tournament," added Froggatt.

"This is a prestigious event in the Academy calendar and once again it was a huge success. Keith Alexander was also passionate about youth development and we hope this tournament will continue to be a fitting tribute in his memory."

All proceeds from the tournament went directly to the Future Imps Fund which was launched in April to attract new investment into the Club to help sustain the Youth Academy.