John Cotton Group scores charity winner

The company held the John Cotton World Cup as part of their centenary celebrations, and hired pitches at the Leeds Road playing fields for 63 players to battle it out in a nine-team, five-a-side format.

Each side was sponsored by a local business, and a total of £7,900 was collected to be split between the firm’s chosen charities. Winners Amanda’s Boys beat Pen Pushers United 1-0 in a close-fought final.

Non-wovens division employee Damian Williamson said:“It was a great day with some competitive games played for a really good cause. In total, all the sponsorships raised just under £8,000 so we were really pleased with that and hope it will go a long way to hitting the target set this year.”

The nine sponsors for the tournament were Curtis Wool Direct, Roberts Mart, Standard Wool, Wilson Knowles Ltd, Advance Forwarding, 10 Associate Creative Agency, Sleepeezee, Irwin Mitchell and Lloyds Bank. John Cotton CBE has set his staff the challenge of raising £100,000 for Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, Macmillan Cancer Support, Kirkwood Hospice, Yorkshire Cancer Centre and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Seven members of the workforce will take on a challenge in September which will see them cycle from a John Cotton factory in Poland back to Mirfield.