PW_3_2025

Professional Development

Football in Albania IPA UK - world class winners By Carl Humby No.2 Region The UK section of the International Police Association (IPA UK) travelled to Albania in June to compete in the first IPA World Football Tournament, comprising of two separate competitions for both women and men. T he women’s team entered as IPA UK, made up of officers from Leicestershire (Carl Humby, Bronnie Hinton and Alka Mistry), Northamptonshire (Erica Turner), West Midlands (Shauna Cossens, at Loro Borici Stadium was set with a rematch against Bulgaria. UK leading at half time 1-0, conceded an early penalty in the second half, however the eventual scoreline was a 3-1 win to IPA UK. Captain Meg Searson claimed player of the tournament, and Jess Ellison the golden boot (12 goals).

Annie Highway, Laura Cooper and Jess Keeling), North Wales (Steph Taylor and Emma Roden), Greater Manchester (Jen Lomax, Ellie Cook and Meg Searson), Northumbria (Jess Ellison), Devon and Cornwall (Caitlin Labajo), and Essex (Amy Day). The men’s team entered as IPA International which was a combined effort of UK, Italy, and Japan, with the UK officers being represented from Police Scotland (Mike Briody), Thames Valley (Riley Stokes), and Metropolitan Police (Shiven Kumar and Alex Barclay). The men’s international team, despite a valiant effort in fixtures against North Macedonia, Romania, Croatia, and Israel, fell short of the knockout stages. Albania were the eventual winners of the men’s competition, in a heated final against Switzerland. The women’s team however was a different story. UK were drawn in a group with Montenegro, Romania, and Bulgaria with UK managing to top the group stage unbeaten, scoring 26 goals and conceding 0. The final, played

Women’s team manager Carl Humby said after the final game: “Team UK was a carefully selected team comprising some of the best available talent the UK Police has to offer. Prior to the competition none of us had any clue as to what the standard would be like, however we were quietly confident we could be successful. “Despite never playing football together before, the players showed their experience, were able to settle quickly as a team, and play some world class football to secure the silverware.” IPA UK Delegation Leader Alka Mistry said: “The tournament reflected the values of the IPA, friendship, fair play, and togetherness. We look forward to watching it grow.” More information and how to join the IPA can be found here - https://www.ipa-uk.org/Join-Us

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POLICE WORLD Vol 70 No.3, 2025