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Council leader Richard Leese takes to the field

Teams from across Greater Manchester met squads from Merseyside, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Staffordshire and the Midlands in the four-day ENS Manchester Youth International Football Tournament.

Age groups in the huge cup challenge ranged from u7s to u16s with some of the country's finest up-and-coming football talent on show between August 10 and 13.

Scouts from the major clubs were on the lookout for possible signings as participants put on their best performances in the hope that this could be their big break.

The event - now in its fourth year - is organised by sportswear manufacturers ENS in partnership with Manchester City Council's leisure services unit and Manchester City Football Association.

In some quarters, though, the experience of competing at national level was overwhelming as some teams - successful at local level - found themselves with barely a goal to save their dented pride.

The finale was a celebrity Manchester Leisure v ENS match featuring sportsmen including Robbie Reid, Peter Barnes, Clayton Blackmoor and Mickey Thomas.

Manchester City Council leader Richard Leese was out in front for the city council and enjoyed every exhausting minute.

He said: "I enjoyed my 45 minutes but there were probably a thousand kids over the last four days who really enjoyed playing football and doing something constructive.

"Particularly at this time of year, it is tremendous to get that number of young people turn up over the last four years.

"The fact that so many ex professionals turned up to show their support for youth football also illustrates the success of this tournament."

Cllr Leese was sure the less successful youngsters would not be too despondent at coming home empty handed.

"There were some very experienced teams there. It might have been discouraging if the younger teams had been playing on full-sized pitches, but the smaller pitches help them enjoy the game more.

"I don't think anyone needs to feel despondent. What matters is that young people take part. It would be good to see Manchester kids go on to play for professional clubs from this, but the idea is to enjoy the game."