UK

Annual river football match continues to excite crowds in Cotswold village

Footballers from Bourton Rovers fight for the ball during the annual traditional River Windrush football match (Ben Birchall/PA)
Footballers from Bourton Rovers fight for the ball during the annual traditional River Windrush football match (Ben Birchall/PA)

Footballers waded through water as part of an annual sporting tradition in a Cotswolds village.

Monday saw the return of the annual traditional River Windrush football match in Bourton-in-the-Water, Gloucestershire.

Annual Football River match
Footballers from Bourton Rovers had their game faces on for the match (Ben Birchall/PA)

The long-standing tradition sees goalposts placed into the shallow waters of the river, with the two sides – who are both part of Bourton Rovers Football Club – playing a 30-minute game.

Right from the start of the match, the footballers battled it out to gain possession of the ball and seemed to make a splash with crowds, who looked on excitedly.

Annual Football River match
Footballers from Bourton Rovers battle it out (Ben Birchall/PA)

One team wore bright orange tops with yellow shorts while the other donned a royal blue kit.

Players got stuck into the action quickly, with many running through the river to help team-mates and others trying to tackle their opponents to inch closer to the goal.

Annual Football River match
The match entertained crowds (Ben Birchall/PA)

One player was seen pushing two opponents out of the way as he tried to make a beeline for the net.

Annual Football River match
The match has happened in the village annually for more than 100 years (Ben Birchall/PA)

In one particularly grizzly moment, a group of players were seen trying to get their foot on the ball at the side of the unconventional pitch as some took pictures and others stared with anticipation.

Annual Football River match
A man wearing a dress and wig made an appearance at the match (Ben Birchall/PA)

A man wearing a dress and wig also made an appearance on the wet “pitch”, pointing towards something in the distance as one player looked at him with confusion and another hung his head in his hands.