Day one commenced with Richard Horner, FA Coach delivering a classroom/pitch-based coaching session; this was attended by more than 60 players from across the four regions. The session challenged individuals’ thinking about training and decision making before and during games, it also gave the Football Development Officer an opportunity to recruit coaches by extolling the benefits of gaining qualifications at a younger age. Part of the classroom session included watching and assessing part of the RAF Senior Representative Team match against the Army in the recent Inter-Service fixture.

Day two saw the start of the competition:

Central 0 North 0 (North won 4-2 on penalties)
On a overcast, damp but mild day the North started with a 4-4-2 formation whilst Central went with 4-2-3-1 and the first 15 minutes were even and well contested. Under the watchful eye of the RAF Senior Rep Team manager a 20 yard free kick by SAC Steven Shek was tipped over the bar by the goalkeeper on 35 minutes. The North saw another 20 yard effort saved before the Centrals SAC Joe Green had his shot from 8 yards saved.
Central put 2 players up front for the second half and in the 52nd minute Cpl John Twentyman fired over after a good lay off from SAC Joe Green. The North did have the ball in the net with 54 minutes on the clock but it was disallowed for off side. Both teams had further chances late on but the deadlock could not be broken and it finished in a stalemate. The game was to be decided by penalty kicks and this resulted in the North winning 4-2 as Central missed their 3rd and 4th spot kicks.    

East 1 West 3
This game produced the best football of the competition, both teams electing for a 4-4-4 formation with the West taking an early lead when SAC Ben Applegate hooked the ball home from a corner kick. Just 3 minutes later and West had appeals for a penalty turned down after Applegate appeared to have been tripped. The match was being fiercely contested on the half hour mark the East hit the crossbar before SAC Jack Gibson saw his 20 yard free kick well saved.
Into the second half and the West went 2-0 up on 52 minutes, SAC Rich Proctor made a strong powerful run down the left before passing to SAC Ben Applegate who cut inside before hitting a low drive from 18 yards past the keeper and inside the near post. The lead was increased to 3-0 in the 58th minute when Proctor drove home, the West were now playing some good attractive passing football whilst the East did not allow their heads to drop as they kept plugging away. The East pulled a goal back six minutes from time when SAC Ricky McCloskey saw his 35 yard free kick take a wicked deflection to loop over the goalkeeper. The East could have reduced the arrears even further in the 87th minute but FS Darren Morrow fired straight at the goalkeeper.

Day three saw the 3rd / 4th Play Off matches and the final of the competition and all teams wearing RAF Benevolent Fund sponsored kits:

Central 4 East 0
The match started off as an even contest and the deadlock was not broken until just before half time when skipper Cpl Chris West headed home. The second goal arrived during the 67th minute when SAC Joe Green finished emphatically after being played through. The impressive Cpl John Twentyman then made it 3-0 by curling home an 18 yard shot that the goalkeeper misjudged. With time ticking on East’s misery was complete when Green latched on to a midfield through ball, saw off his defender before coolly slotting home.

North 2 West 0
West went into the final as favourites as they had more strenght in their squad and had put in a great display the day before however they could not produce that form again as North became the first region to retain the White Cup. It was a scrappy start and just as the West looked to start getting into their passing game the North stole a 1-0 lead on 15 minutes. It was SAC Andrew Clapham whose 25 yard free kick struck the wall but he fired home the rebound low into the far corner. In the 23rd minute the north’s Cpl Liam Williams saw his free powerful header from a corner cleared off the line. In what was a good open game the West could have drawn level but SAC Dan Woodgate saw his hooked shot from the edge of the box go just wide.
The half hour mark then saw a 30 yard effort by SAC Will Bray whistle just over the bar for the North. However it was 2-0 in the 35th minute when a miss kick from the West goalkeeper Flt Lt Steve Ricketts resulted in Cpl West, who played 90 minutes for the East, firing past him to double the North’s lead.
The second half played in quite heavy rain saw West have the more possession but unable to claw a goal back that would have given them a life line, their best chance coming in injury time when SAC Ben Applegate fired just wide from 20 yards. The White Cup was presented by RAF FA Chairman Group Captain Simon Harper.   

The competition was fiercely contested and its existence as the ‘window of opportunity’ for station players worthy of consideration for the RAF Development Squad or the Senior Representative Team was fully justified; six players were put forward to the Mens’ Development Squad and four players represented the full SRT against the UK Police Force. As with previous years the RAF FA will respond to player/coach feedback and further develop the three-day event to become a ‘Football Symposium’.

Squads:

North
SAC Stuart Grant (Leuchars)
SAC Stuart Cormack (Leeming)
SAC Andrew Clapham (Leeming)
SAC Steven Shek (Lossiemouth)
SAC Steven McMeeking (Lossiemouth)
Cpl Liam Williams ( Lossiemouth)
SAC Will Bray (Lossiemouth)
SAC Jordan Jones (Lossiemouth)
SAC Rich Hooper (Leuchars)
LAC Coulton Lockwood (Halton)
Fg Off Sean Tyers (Honington)
Flt Lt Howie Heap (Lossiemouth)
SAC Dan Roberts (Cosford)

Central
Cpl Robbin Griffiths (Cosford)
SAC Ben Greenwood (Waddington)
Sgt Phil Kelly (Cosford)
Cpl Neil Hudson (Cosford)
Cpl Chris West (Cranwell)
SAC Ryan Watts (Waddington)
Cpl John Twentyman (Waddington)
SAC Chris Robertson (Coningsby)
SAC Joe Green (Coningsby)
SAC Matt Beggs (Cosford)
Fg Off Si Wain (Cranwell)
SAC Jimmy Ireland (Valley)
SAC Karl Gledhill (Cosford)
SAC Chris Wilson (Shawbury)

East
SAC(T) Aden Turner (Marham)
Cpl Danny Tindall (Wyton)
Cpl James Hall (Northwood)
LAC Robbie Molloy (Wyton)
SAC (T) Rob McNeely (Marham)
SAC Mike O’Hara (Wyton)
Cpl James Williams (Northwood)
SAC Jack Gibson (Brize Norton)
SAC Matt Ferguson (Wyton)
Sgt Danny Bartley (Northolt)
SAC Ricky McCloskey (Marham)
SAC Chris Donlan (Wyton)
SAC Will Riding (Wyton)
FS Darren Morrow (Waddington)

West
Flt Lt Steve Ricketts (LATCC Mil)
SAC Neil Speck (Odiham)
SAC Matt Ross (Benson)
Cpl Mike Hard (Brize Norton)
SAC Damien Evans (Odiham)
Sgt Gary Nicholson (Brize Norton)
SAC Dan Woodgate (Benson)
SAC Rich Proctor (Boscombe Down)
Cpl Kai Merritt (Brize Norton)
SAC Ben Applegate (Odiham)
AC Conner Lucas (Halton)
Cpl Sean Kilkenny (Halton)
Cpl Greg McHale (Halton)