A long-running charity football tournament is returning to the area for its 45th anniversary.

The Graham Edwards Memorial Trophy begins on Sunday and will feature eight local football teams who battle out for the title.

It is played in memory of a promising footballer from Gobowen who played football for Weston Rhyn and Gobowen before he died after a battle with leukaemia at the age of 21 in 1974.

The long-running tournament features grandchildren of players who played in the original memorial trophy tournament back in 1975 and has raised more than £140,000 over the years.

After an enforced break following a shortage of teams, the format has changed this year from a straight knockout to two groups of four with the top two teams in each group going through to a knockout semi-final, followed by the final which will be held on Sunday, July 28.

All matches will be held on Gobowen Playing Fields and the opening fixture will see a derby as St Martins take on St Martins Village at 2pm, followed by Gobowen Celtic v Four Crosses Reserves at 6.30pm, all from Group A.

Then on Tuesday, The New Saints Under-19s will face Llanfyllin Town at 6.30pm, and on Wednesday, July 10 at 6.30pm Llangollen Reserves will face Chirk Town. These matches are for Group B.

The tournament is officially recognised by the Shropshire FA and is a pre-season build-up for many local teams, as well as raising money for Leukaemia Research. On top of money raised at matches There will be a grand raffle which is drawn at the final, with the top three prizes of £100 cash, a spa day for two at The Lion Quays, and a food hamper.

David Figg, media officer, said: "The committee would like to thank in advance anyone hwo has kindly donated any of the prizes but we would appeal to any individuals or businesses to donate prizes ­– and any donations would be very gratefully received."

The tournament will conclude on Sunday, September 8 when the annual dinner will take place featuring guest speaker, former Premier League striker Micky Quinn. Tickets cost £35 each and are available from Andrew Fauls on 07854 742729.