A GROUP of Vale football players were more successful than the England team when they took part in an international tournament in Evesham.

Held to coincide with the Euro 2012 football tournament, which is being held in Poland and Ukraine, the event was arranged by Wychavon District Council to bring members of the community together.

Eight different nationalities took part.

Held at Prince Henry’s High School, Evesham, more than 100 players were involved in the tournament. Tom Piotrowski, Wychavon’s migration and integration in rural areas co-ordinator, said it was a good chance for members of the community to get to know each other through a common love of football.

The Red and Whites of Evesham emerged victorious from the hard-fought tournament which was played in good spirits.

Lukasz Slowinski, captain of the winning team, said: “We were delighted to win a local version of Euro 2012, especially with our families and friends supporting us from the sidelines.

“The competition was fierce, but fair and we are extremely proud of our achievement.”

After British, people from Poland make up by far the second highest proportion of the population of Evesham with more than 1,100 Poles living in the town, according to the latest electoral roll.

Excluding British, the top ten nationalities in Evesham are Polish, 1,112; Irish, 252; Italian, 141; Lithuanian, 107; Slovakian, 95; German, 86; Indian, 84; Latvian, 82; South African, 63 and Portuguese, 63.