Congratulations to On The Ball Acadamy, winners of the 2026 Shankly Cup

The Glasgow side beat last-year’s winners, the Steven Gerrard Academy, 1-0 in a tightly fought final that capped a brilliant day.

This year’s event saw youth teams from Liverpool, Ayrshire, Glasgow, Wrexham and Dublin come together to play a tournament that celebrates Bill Shankly and upholds his principles and values of teamwork, humility, passion and community. And two former Liverpool FC players were on hand to hand out the trophy: Gordon Wallace, who played under Shanks, and two-time European Cup-winner Sammy Lee.

The day kicked off with a welcome from Paul Khan, the outgoing chair of Spirit of Shankly and then the games began, keenly contested but played in the right spirit. The final was the climax, but every team, and coach and manager, played their part and each went home with a pennant and statue of the great man.

See you next year!

This year’s participants
Steven Gerrard Academy; Halewood Apollo FC; On The Ball Academy; Cumnock Juniors FC; Brickfield Rangers; Rathcoole FC; Lucan United FC; Crumlin United FC

We would also like to thank
The Steven Gerrard Academy for hosting, and their staff, who did everything to make the day work.
Joel and Lewis, Academy students who recorded the event.
Peter Carney, the man behind some of LFC’s most famous banners, who decorated the pitch perimeters.
The volunteers.
The John Brodie pub for their hospitality. The foof and drinks were most welcome after the tournament.
And our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Stephen Monaghan who organised the day and without whom this incredible community event would not take place.