A football tournament to increase respect, trust, equality and engagement between community groups and the South Wales Police force, took place on 16 May for the third year running.

The Western Bay Community Cohesion Cup, which runs across South Wales in conjunction with South Wales Police and Ethnic Youth Support Team and sponsored by Hale Construction, took place at the Liberty Stadium, with The Kush Stars (representatives from a diverse range of ethnic communities) winning against the South Wales Police team 3-1.

The event, running across Neath, Port Talbot and Swansea plays a key part of South Wales Police’s representative workforce programme. South Wales Police have a strong commitment to equality and diversity both within the organisation and the services it provides, with the aim to promote a fully inclusive workforce to reflect the communities it serves.

The aim of this annual event is to use football as a vehicle to not only foster stronger relationships in the community, but ultimately encourage more applicants to join the force from various community groups, such as black, Asian and minority ethnic people (BAME) and individuals from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities.

Sponsoring the event was Hale Construction as part of its Community Benefits programme with Tai Tarian. Hale Construction has recently completed its second housing project with the social housing provider at Llys Wern, Neath, which comprised of 8 2-bedroom homes.

Jonathan Hale, chairman of JG Hale Group, the parent company to Hale Construction and Hale Homes, said:

“An initiative such as The Western Bay Community Cohesion Cup is a great way to bring individuals and the South Wales Police force together – a service that does so much to look after our communities.

“It is crucial to ensure our emergency services are supporting and representing equality and diversity to promote a fully inclusive workforce to reflect the community it serves, and this is a fantastic way of doing so to bring people together.”

Rebecca Thomas, Tai Tarian’s Tenant Liaison Manager, added:

“As one of our contractors, Hale Construction signed a pledge to give something back to the communities we serve, so more people can benefit from the work we do.

“It’s great to see that they are truly embracing this by not only sponsoring The Western Bay Community Cohesion Cup, but by also providing Tai Tarian United with some support players for our match!”

PC Ian Ranford from South Wales Police commented:

“The idea behind this initiative has been to break down barriers and create strong relationships between our diverse communities through the medium of sport, in this case football. The end goal being to increase confidence in South Wales Police, further enhancing our community engagement whilst promoting community cohesion.

“This is the third year we have organised this event. It has been exciting to see businesses, organisations and local communities from the Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot areas come together to compete in the Community Cohesion Cup.”