Duncan Edwards Peace Field Pitch to host football festival

In recent months a partnership has been formed between Dudley and three other peace field projects in the UK - George Best (Belfast), Denis Law (Aberdeen) and Sir Tom Finney (Preston) - and football teams representing each of these will take part in the tournament.

Dudley will be represented by players from the Stourbridge and District Youth Football League.

Every player, coach and official participating in the festival will be presented with a Duncan Edwards Peace Field Medal by Dennis Mortimer, captain of the Aston Villa side which won the European Cup in 1982; and the winners will receive a specially commissioned Duncan Edwards Trophy.

The peace field project, an initiative by the National Children’s Football Alliance, has seen 39 peace pitches established across five continents in countries including the USA, Argentina, Ghana, Israel and Australia.

The pitches have been created to remember the moment of peace and humanity when German and Allied WWI soldiers stopped fighting to sing festive songs in the week leading up to Christmas 1914 and on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day some even ventured into no man’s land to exchange gifts and play football.

Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Anne Millward, with representatives of the Stourbridge & District Football and Youth League who will take part in the festival. Pic - Jonathan Hipkiss

Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Anne Millward, said: “The Duncan Edwards Peace Field is a wonderful initiative and a sobering reminder to us all of the sacrifices made in battlefields around the world to preserve our freedom.

“The fact that for a few brief hours, two sets of adversaries laid down their arms and came together to share a game of football is so very poignant.

“I am proud that the Dell Stadium has been chosen to host this inaugural Peace Field Football Festival in the name of Duncan Edwards.”