A FESTIVAL of football was held to mark the birthday and the life of a murdered Edmonton man.

Bakari Davis, who would have been 25 today, was knifed to death after being repeatedly punched in Bedevere Road in March last year.

But his family have used his death as a springboard to launch a proactive campaign to tackle youth violence in the capital and held this year's football tournament in Edmonton's Jubilee Park, in Houndsfield Road, at the weekend to raise money for a foundation set up in memory of Mr Davis, who was known as Judah.

More than 100 people turned out on both days to play against each other and support the role of fun community interaction.

Speaking at the event, Mr Davis' mother Livi Bernard, called for unity to be shown amongst people of all ages, races and religions.

“We are all human and we should be working with each other to develop the skill and talents that our children have,” she said whilst flanked by the brothers, sisters and friends of her son.

“We are here today because of the actions of some of our young people, but despite that, something good can come from something bad.

“We all want to see our children strive to live and to develop, to reach manhood and be the adults of tomorrow, and we can't do that by dealing in badness.”

The Judah Foundation was developed to help give a brighter future for young people and supports families, schools and youth groups to encourage them to provide the best opportunities.

And Livi believes the work of the foundation will make a difference.

She said: “I take it as a personal blessing that the Almighty has given me this opportunity.

“He has taken my son in order to see this work that needs to be done. Judah brought a lot of joy to a lot of people and we will work to preserve the memory of his life and those he left behind.”

Mr Davis' schoolfriend, Michael Donaldson, helped organise the football days, which were split into junior and adult tournaments.

He said: “Judah was a big football fan and there's no doubt he would have been playing today.

“I have really good memories of him, he was always smiling and laughing, and he would have loved this.

“Football has no language and brings people together, to work together rather than pull apart.”

Rafs Lyndon coached Mr Davis at football, guided him as a friend and said his spirit still lives on.

“He was a very inspiring individual. I could feel him here today, looking at us from a point with his lovely smile,” added Mr Lyndon, who has been involved in youth work in the borough for more than 40-years.

“These sorts of days bring fulfilment, aspirations, hope and social interaction.

“The problem begins when they don't have the activities or something to satisfy their individual need.

“But the young people don't have the community focus. They have low self-esteem, low self-worth, are still our lovely babies, and all they are doing is displaying a behaviour, and I wouldn't be doing this work if I didn't believe days like this are making a difference.”