Fairtrade footie fest winners Manor View Hotels take glory

And in the recent Fairtrade Football Festival, it was a team from Manor View Hotels who eventually grabbed the glory last Friday evening.

The tournament was organised by East Renfrewshire council and East Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce — with the chamber of commerce providing the trophy.

The council’s Sports Service saw over the running of the day and the teams used Fairtrade footballs.

Fairtrade fortnight ran from February 24 till March 9 and this year the Fairtrade Foundation’s campaign was to transform the banana industry.

Environment convener, councillor Vincent Waters, said: “The seven-a-side tournament was a lighthearted networking opportunity to spread the serious message of Fairtrade.

“The Fairtrade Foundation wants to ensure every banana farmer and worker earns enough to have a decent stadard of living, works in conditions that are safe and has rights and benefits.

“It also means bananas are produced in a way that is environmentally sustainable too.

“In the last 10 years, the UK supermarket sector has almost halved the shelf price of loose bananas while the cost of producing them has doubled, trapping many of the farmers and workers who grow them in a cycle of poverty.

Hopefully, our Fairtrade Football Festival helped to promote the messages this year.”