The tournament takes place this Sunday at the Ferguslie Sports Centre with the first game kicking off at 12 noon. 15 teams of local people will take to the field in memory of those lost to suicide with support and information organisation invited along to raise awareness of the help that is available to those who experience poor mental health and wellbeing.

The tournament was established over 20 years ago by Ferguslie resident and volunteer Paul Cardonna, in response to the number of friends he had grown up with who he had lost to suicide.

Paul Cardonna said: “As a young man I was sick of going to all of my friends’ funerals knowing that if they had been aware of the love and support that was out there for them they would still be here.”

“The event is an opportunity to get family and friends together in a more positive occasion. It’s a way to remember the people we’ve lost and to let others who are feeling low or thinking of suicide what support is out there for them.”

This year the event is being supported by the No Substitute for Life Men’s Group thanks to funding from Ferguslie Park Housing Association and Engage Renfrewshire’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund. Local business Bounce-a-lot is also supporting the event by putting on free entertainment for children.

The Men’s Group was initially set up as an online support group to share information during lockdown and quickly became a place where FIFA tournaments were organised, encouraging people to keep in touch with one another at the height of the pandemic when lockdown was in place, with the group quickly growing to over 194 members.

As restrictions lifted the group began to meet in person, initially this was in small groups of three outdoors as part of a darts tournament that was organised via the Facebook page.

Since then, the group has been awarded £3,000 from the Tannahill Centre’s Good Ideas Fund which allowed the group to purchase the equipment needed to establish a regular games night and other activities. The Men’s Group now holds weekly football games, fortnightly games nights and regular walking, fishing and camping activities. Support from local group Own Yer Bike has also allowed the group to start cycling on a regular basis.

Chris Johnstone, a facility officer at the Tannahill Centre, has been volunteering his time on top of his day-to-day duties to get the group up and running.

He added: “The Men’s Group is a space where folk can be themselves, not have to worry about saying or doing the right thing, it’s a space where we can interact with one another and not have to worry about being judged. For many they’ve tried out new activities, or participated in physical activities for the first time since leaving school.”

“it’s been a great way for us to support one another and already people are telling us how the group has cheered them up, or encouraged them to make positive changes in their lives.”