It’s a global footballing bonanza this week, and to kick off we have some homegrown talent. Eighteen-year-old Junior Bilal (inset), who works in the business support unit at Cumberland Ellis, is in Manchester playing for England (above) in the INAS-FID European Championship 2008.

Having scored a stunning 10-0 victory over France in their opening match last week, the team came back from 1-0 down against Portugal to win 5-1. They have one more group match against Hungary, who sit level with them on six points, but a showdown with either Holland or Poland in the semi finals is already secure. The final takes place at Oldham Athletic on 2 August.

Earlier in the month, a few miles away in Stoke, celebrities played in the Gordon Banks XI v Pele XI charity match, which received pro bono assistance from Weightmans solicitors Geraint Owen and Sean Crotty. Among other things, the duo advised on intellectual property issues before a new monument to Banks could be unveiled at Stoke City’s Britannia Stadium.

Meanwhile in Alicante, Spain, London Lawyers FC ran rings around the opposition to reach the final of Mundiavocat 2008 – a kind of World Cup for lawyers. Posting two impressive five-goal winning margins – including a 6-1 semi-final thrashing of Turkey’s Bosphorus – they finally succumbed 1-0 to Mexico in the final. Fasken Martineau Stringer Saul associate Brendan Gallen bagged the player of the tournament award.

The team are on the lookout for more talent at: www.londonlawyersfc.com.