We wish you a warm welcome to Poland and the fifteenth edition of the Krakow Trophy. It was the destination for our very first tournament back in 2007 and this year's event represented our 142 nd tournament in Europe.

This tournament has been hugely successful over the years and our roll of honour can be seen below.

2007 Northern Monkeys (Eng)

2008 Red Light Runners (Sco)

2009 Rigford Seahawks (Eng)

2010 Hutnik (Pol)

2010 Azmot (Pol)

2011 Apsley House (Eng)

2012 Skidmarks (Eng)

2013 Budapest Celtic Lions (Hun)

2016 Tinnided & Tobaco (Eng)

2017 Big Time Krakow (Pol)

2021 Banerka (Pol)

2022 Alea Iacta Est (Pol)

2023 Colonel Getafe (Eng)

2024 Ball Bashers (Eng)

The opening match in the tournament was an all-Polish affair with Krakow Lions versus Los Malakas Hermanos. The latter team were on debut and they got off to the perfect start with a goal from Santiago Salinas. Krakow Lions had participated in our events before (under different names – more on them later) and they were not behind for long with Martin Nijboer levelling the scores at 1-1….and that's how we finished the first half. 1-1 with all to play for after the break.

It was Krakow Lions who edged ahead after the break as Martin Nijboer grabbed a second goal to turn this game on its head. Krakow Lions then had a cushion once Marouane Zaiz scored to put the icing on a 3-1 cake.

The first phase of the 2025 Krakow Trophy would be decided on a group basis. There were two groups with 5 teams in each group. The teams finishing 1st and 2nd in each group would progress to the Cup competition. This would be played as a knock-out phase with Semi-Finals and Final. The teams finishing 3rd and 4th in each group would progress to the Plate competition. This would be played as a knock-out phase with Semi-Finals and Final. The teams finishing 5th in each group would be eliminated at this stage.

Whilst Krakow Lions were on their way to a 3-1 win on Pitch A, we had Bear Ballerz v Alea Iacta Est competing on Pitch C. It was France versus Poland in a contest between two regulars on our circuit who we will preview in more detail as we progress with this report. With the match underway it was Bear Ballerz who were into their stride the quicker of the two teams.

Thomas Ricaux was the man of the moment in front of goal as he opened the scoring for Bear Ballerz. 1-0 became 2-0 and it was Ricaux on target again. When the referee blew the whistle for half-time the French were in control at 2-0. In the second half Bear Ballerz controlled the game and didn't allow Alea Iacta Est a foothold back into the game. A clean sheet for Alessandro Cirmino guaranteed all 3 points for Bear Ballerz.

The final team to get their campaign underway was Half XI of Wales. The Welsh side were making their debut in our events. At the other end of the spectrum we had Krakow Lions who had previously played in our events as Big Time Krakow. They made their debut at the 2017 Krakow Trophy. They secured 2 wins and 2 draws from their 5 group games as they finished second to Switzerland's Krakowcaine. They qualified for the Cup Semi-Finals and defeated Fylde FC B 2-1. In the Cup Final they drew 0-0 with Slovakia's GSF Drunkerz but won 4-3 on penalties. Could they regain their title 8 years on from that debut success?

Krakow Lions had looked good in their first game with a 3-1 win over Los Malakas Hermanos and were looking to make it 2 wins out of 2. Having waited for the other 4 teams to already play, Half XI must have been champing at the bit to get going and they certainly came flying out of the traps.

The honour of scoring their first goal in our tournaments went to Cameron Faircloth. Jack Parry added a second before Cameron Faircloth turned his goal into a brace. At half-time, Half XI were sitting pretty on a 3-0 lead. Krakow Lions were not previous champions for no reason though and they roared back into it after the change of ends. Maroune Zaiz cut the deficit to 3-1 before Alaeddine Jebnoun further reduced the deficit to 3-2. Krakow Lions had left themselves to much to do though as Half XI closed the game out to pick up all 3 points.

Bear Ballerz (Fra) debuted at the 2022 Amsterdam Sixes as London French Football Club. They made a great start defeating the reigning Amsterdam Fives champions FC Kicks, 2-0. A 1-1 draw against the reigning Amsterdam Sevens champions meant a great haul of 4 points from 6 against proven tournament winners. They followed this up with a 2-1 win over Whiteley FC and a 2-2 draw against Dolce and Lallana. They needed a point from their last game to qualify but lost 3-0 at the most inopportune time to taste defeat for the first time. They qualified for the Plate competition where they went out in the Semi-Finals, 1-0, to Freshers FC. Today they had got off to a fast start just as they did on debut with a 2-0 win over Alea Iacta Est.

Los Malakas Hermanos made their debut this morning with a 3-1 loss that had been promising when they opened the scoring. However, they were to fall behind from the get go here with Thomas Ricaux of Bear Ballerz continuing his fine run of form in attack for his team. He increased his tournament tally to 3 goals as he gave Bear Ballerz a 1-0 lead at the break.

Los Malakas Hermanos hit back in the second period with Guillermo Buonomo equalizing for 1-1. It was a valuable goal that earned his team a point from the game and got them off and running in the group. For Bear Ballerz it was a blow to take a point when they had all 3 in their grasp but, as the full-time whistle blew, they could be content with leading Group A with 4 points from 6.

The match that took us to the halfway stage of Group A saw Half XI meet Alea Iacta Est. Half XI had opened up with an excellent 3-2 win in their first game. Their second game was against former champions Alea Iacta Est.

In 2022, our Krakow Trophy broke with tradition and was a Veterans Tournament (35+). They made a superb start with 3-0 wins over Bure Park Seniors and Podgorze. It got even better when they defeated FC Dad's Club, 7-1. They ended the group campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Thursday Veterans. It meant 3 teams were locked on 9 points but Alea Iacta Est had the best goal difference and claimed the Group B victory.

They drew Galbarnia in the Semi-Finals and secured a superb 3-1 victory to set up an all-Poland Cup Final versus Thursday Veterans. Alea Iacta Est went 2-0 up before finding themselves 3-2 down. They recovered to level the match at 3-3 and then secure a last gasp winner to take the title, 4-3.

Here in 2025, Alea Iact Est were up against the youngest side in the tournament in the form of Half XI. The Polish had also suffered a 2-0 defeat against Bear Ballerz in their first game. The match was evenly contested throughout as Alea Iacta Est showed age is no barrier to the beautiful game. Half XI did end the first half a goal to the good with Osian Jones on target for the Welsh team.

1-0 at half-time became 1-0 at full-time as Alea Iacta Est held their own at the back but were unable to find the crucial breakthrough at the other end. Half XI were now 2 wins from 2 and jumped to the top of the table. They had showed excellent game management in seeing out 3-2 and 1-0 wins.