A warm welcome to Mallorca (and it was warm!) and the sixth edition of the Mallorca Tournament - 5-a-side football next to the beach, with a BBQ and bar under the rays of the Spanish sun. What a setting and what a day we had in store with 24-teams signed up. It was our largest single event in Mallorca and we were raring to go.

First up in Group A was The Average Joes versus Bede FC. Bede FC were seasoned veterans on the eurofootballfives.com tour having made their debut in the 2011 Barcelona Fives and picked up a first European victory with a 2-1 victory over eventual Plate Winners, Bristol Bridge. Other results did not quite go their way and did not reward their performances as they were unlucky to finish 5th on goal difference – going through to the Wooden Spoon Semi-Finals but going down to Stamford AC. They played in the 2012 Algarve Open finishing 4th in their group before a narrow 2-1 exit in the Plate Quarter-Finals to Goals Aloud of Wales. A return to the Algarve Open in 2013 saw them struggle in the group phase finishing 6th. In the Wooden Spoon Final they lost on Golden Goal to Norton Old Boys. Next stop was the 2014 Amsterdam Fives where they finished 5th in their 6 team group before Vodafone Netherlands were responsible for their exit in the Plate Quarter-Finals. Fast forward to the 2015 Bratislava Fives and they lost narrowly to the 2015 Mallorca Tournament winners, Saipan FC. They followed this up with a 3-1 win over Slovakia's Donuts. A 2-1 loss to Tekkerslovakia followed and they ultimately finished 4th in their group. An epic Quarter-Final and 10-goal thriller wowed the crowds but sadly they missed out on the next round, 6-4, to the 2013 Budpapest Fives champions – Team Bear.

Their opponents, The Average Joes, were on debut and acquitted themselves well on their first European start. Although they played well they fell behind to a Dave Gatt goal. The Average Joes then equalized through Paul Olds before Jonathan Balmforth was felled for a penalty. Balmforth got up and took the penalty to fire Bede FC into a 2-1 lead that would prove to be a victory.

The final fixture in the opening round of Group A was Valecuatro versus Big Wille's

Well, at least it should have been. We were rocked by the news that Valecuatro had left a message with the venue late on the Friday night that they would be unable to fulfil their place at the tournament and would have to withdrew. It meant Big Wille's would earn a 3-0 walkover but would also have to wait for their first taste of action on the pitch.