Even before any matches kicked or tipped off, athletes and fans were treated to an appearance by special VIP guest Mandeville, the official London 2012 Paralympic mascot, appearing on behalf of BT. The friendly creature posed for photos and danced with excited spectators to show his support for the event.
Spectators and media were also able to watch a special exhibition match between GB and Sweden in Goalball, a Paralympic sport for visually impaired players. Sweden won the game 11-4.
At the much-anticipated Lord’s Taverners celebrity Football match, the celebrity and media squad narrowly won the match against England’s Football 7-a-side Development Squad in an entertaining affair, thanks to both the stylistic display of athleticism on the pitch and the colourful commentary provided by Phil Thompson and John Gwyne.
It was the celebrities and media who strolled to an early two goal advantage thanks to Chris Cottrell and Clayton Blackmore, the latter rolling back the years with an unstoppable finish giving England Development goalkeeper Leon Taylor no chance to save. Lord’s Taverners then stretched their lead to three, which finally produced a reaction from their young opponents who scored twice through the impressive Emyle Rudder to tighten the gap.
A debatable penalty levelled the score deep into the second-half, but the celebrities and the media sealed a 4-3 win with a well-taken finish to seal a surprising hat-trick.
Emmerdale star James Hooton, who performed well for Lord’s Taverners, said, “It was a wonderful day and a wonderful occasion. I used to play Football on Saturday afternoons but haven’t for a while so that was a bit of a work out for me!
“Playing in this match was a fantastic experience and I would love to come back next year and get involved once more. Who knows maybe we could get a whole Emmerdale team together and play more guys from The Bill or Coronation Street!”

The GB men’s Wheelchair Basketball team continued to show their dominance, with a convincing 66-44 win over Canada. Jon Pollock top scored with 20 points while Simon Munn once again recorded a double-double, with 16 points and 10 assists and Ian Sagar grabbed 10 points.
Munn said, “Today was a great day for the whole team and I was impressed with every individual’s performance.”
Britain’s ability to convert opportunities far exceeded the Canadians, as they turned in 49 per cent of their shots compared to the North American's 35 per cent and they were also pretty handy from the charity strip with 57 per cent of their free throws converted.
Coach Murray Treseder’s team will now take on reigning Paralympic champions, Australia, who will need to win to ensure they remain in contention for the gold medal game.
Elsewhere GB’s hopes faded in the women’s Wheelchair Basketball and Football 7-a-side team suffering painful losses to their opponents.
The women’s Basketball team fell to defending BT Paralympic World Cup champions The Netherlands, 51-24. Inge Huitzing’s 14 points and Cher Korver’s 12 points accounted for more than half of the Dutch 51-24 victory. Britain’s top scorers, Laurie Williams, Madeleine Thompson and Pauline McDonald, amassed four points each.
Williams said, “After yesterday’s loss I think we may have beat ourselves up too much and put too much pressure on this game. Unfortunately, we did not play well with that pressure and lost dramatically.
“We have good days and bad days and this was clearly a bad day, we need to put today behind us and look positively towards tomorrow and the World Championships.”
On the Football 7-a-side pitch, the GB team lost 2-1 to the Republic of Ireland, putting GB in competition for the bronze medal.
Jeff Davis, the FA’s National Disability Manager, was disappointed in the result, but is hoping to come away with a medal.
“This is a great tournament; the crowd, the facilities, the competition, has been great, but we are just not performing in it,” he said.
“We’re not a bad side, we just haven’t played well here, and now we’re going to go back and figure out what’s been going wrong for us to hopefully come away with the bronze medal tomorrow.”
The GB team will play USA for the bronze medal tomorrow at 09:30 at Manchester’s Regional Arena. The gold medal will be contested by the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands, who today stormed over the USA 5-0, with a hat-trick scored by Iijas Visker, the tournament’s top scorer.
The BBC, the official televised partner to the event, will broadcast live from the Manchester Aquatics Centre on Monday 31 May on BBC Television.
Tickets for the BT Paralympic World Cup are on sale and can be purchased via the event website: www.btparalympicworldcup.com or by calling 0844 8471622. Tickets are priced at £6 per session.
BT is the title sponsor of the Paralympic World Cup; the sponsorship runs up to and includes the 2012 BT Paralympic World Cup.
The BT Paralympic World Cup is sanctioned by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Cerebral Palsy International Sports & Recreation Association (CPISRA) and the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) and supported by BT, ParalympicsGB, the FA, Manchester City Council and the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).
The event schedule will see Athletics on 25 May, Football 7-a-side on 26-29 May and Wheelchair Basketball on 27-30 May, all at the Manchester Regional Arena and Swimming at the Manchester Aquatics Centre on 31 May.
Follow the BT Paralympic World Cup on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BTPWC