A football tournament has been praised for bringing together people from different cultures and backgrounds in a celebration of sport.

More than 100 players with backgrounds from 16 countries, from Bangladesh and Portugal to Britain and Syria, took part in the latest One Community Cup event at Goals Soccer Centre, based near Suffolk New College in Grimwade Street.

The tournament included the launch of Inspire Suffolk’s new sports programme in partnership with the Bangladeshi Support Centre, the sporting citizenship programme.

Francis Howard, a Suffolk-based police community support officer (PCSO) who helped organise the event, said: “Since its rebirth in 2015, the One Community Cup has gone from strength to strength with an increasing mix of different communities and nationalities taking part.

“It was great to see so many teams back from last year and see players from different teams greeting one another and interacting with police in such a positive way.”

The sporting citizenship programme, funded by the Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner, was launched at the event for young men from eastern European and Asian communities living in the Norwich Road area of Ipswich.

The aim of the programme is to use sport primarily to engage and create harmonious living and integration between the culturally diverse communities in Ipswich.

Mahbub Alam Shamim of the Bangladeshi Ipswich Football Association (BIFA) and Phanuel Mutumburi of the Ipswich and Suffolk Council For Racial Equality (ISCRE) also helped organise the event, which was won by Nactown Barbers.