THEY are best known for helping run one of the biggest and most popular holiday destinations in Pembrokeshire - but this summer staff at the Bluestone National Park Resort will also be holding an enticing football tournament to raise funds for charity.

The Bluestone Foundation Football League is set to kick off this August, accompanied by the Bluestone Foundation Football Shield.

All funds raised will go charitable causes throughout the county.

Under the current provisional plans, five teams will join a Bluestone side, made up of staff members, to form the summer league – with fixtures taking place on August 8, 10, 15, 17 and 23.

The league winners will then play a final game against Bluestone on Saturday, September 2, with a 5.30pm kick off at the Conygar Bridge Meadow Stadium – with the Bluestone Foundation Football Shield at stake.

The company will be donating a free team building day, including a variety of resort activities to the winning club - and 10 complimentary tickets for the Blue Lagoon Water Park to each participating club.

It was Ian Darbyshire, who plays for Pembrokeshire Football Division One side Carew and works at the Bluestone resort, who originally pitched the idea and he told Telegraph Sport he hoped the competition would benefit both the local community and staff members.

“It’s an initiative to raise money for good causes through what a lot of us love doing most – playing football,” he said.

“And also, I’m fortunate that I’m able to play football on a Saturday. But most Bluestone employees work on the weekend – so organising our own team and fixtures so that more people can play is worthwhile as we have some great talent.

“It will also massively help staff welfare, wellbeing, and morale.”

He added the host side were hopeful that Swansea City FC legend and current club ambassador Lee Trundle would be accepting an invitation to help the side with their training.

Ian has written to local clubs to invite them to participate, and has pledged that Bluestone will take care of the organisation of the fixtures, referees and programmes.

“We hope that the competition will help clubs in their pre-season training and provide an opportunity for younger or inexperienced players to progress,” he added.

“And the participating clubs can benefit from free publicity through Bluestone’s marketing team, and free photos and free video footage via Ref Cam will be made available for club use and social media purposes.”

Ian said that on the day of the Shield match, the resort were hoping for a big turnout at The Meadow, with the idea of a 5.30pm kick off designed for the game to finish in time for people to watch Wales play Austria afterwards (7.45pm kick off).

And he's hopeful the league will not just be a one-off: “I really hope this is the start of a new and exciting football adventure.

"And if it’s a success we will aim for it to become an annual event."

  • Each participating club will be asked to pay an entrance fee of £100 as a donation to the Bluestone Foundation, and give permission collections to be made during matches. Anyone interested in entering a side can contact Ian on idarbyshire@bluestonewales.com​.
  • The Bluestone Foundation was established by Bluestone Resorts with the aim of helping people to help themselves, through environmental, economic and social projects in and around Pembrokeshire.