Tankards, Clough & 'creaky joints' - Tennent's Sixes returns

What the report says

BBC Sport reports that the Tennent’s Sixes, Scotland’s indoor six-a-side football tournament, is returning this weekend after a 33-year absence. The event, once a regular part of the Scottish football calendar in the 1980s and early 1990s, will be staged at Braehead Arena, with the playing surface laid over the venue’s ice rink. Former players from all 12 Scottish Premiership clubs are due to take part, with group matches on Saturday and a new winner to be decided on Sunday evening.

The revival has prompted memories of how seriously the tournament was once treated. BBC Sport notes that prominent players of the era, including Rangers’ Davie Cooper and Celtic’s John Collins, featured in the competition at the height of their careers. Former players speaking to the broadcaster said that a modern version involving current first-team squads would be unlikely because of injury and workload concerns.

Among the teams involved this time, Barry Ferguson is set to manage a Rangers side that includes Charlie Adam and Andy Halliday, while Aiden McGeady and Charlie Mulgrew are among Celtic’s names. Hearts’ Rudi Skacel is also due to appear. The piece also recalls unusual parts of the tournament’s history, including Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest taking part in 1988 and Partick Thistle remaining the last winners, having lifted the trophy in 1993.

BBC Sport’s report underlines the event’s cult status and how much football culture has changed since it was last played, from prize tankards to the tougher player-welfare standards of the modern game.