A team that won the Lancashire Sunday League Premier division title for the first time in their history have paid tribute to a talented Blackburn footballer.
AFC Preston were crowned champions of the Premier division at the end of the 2024 season.
As the team were handed the cup the side displayed t-shirts to remember Junaid Dalal who died of cancer earlier this year.
Junaid had played for a number of amateur league sides in the North West.
He was a regular in the Blackburn Combination League, most notably for EG and also turned out in the Blackburn Sunday League.
He also won numerous player awards in seven-a-side and five-a-side tournaments.
The Blackburn Combination League had held a minutes silence following the news of his passing in February.
AFC Preston were unbeaten going into March having won their first 10 games. They finished 16 points ahead of their closest rivals Bamber Bridge and lost only one game all season.
The achievement was all more the more remarkable as the team was playing in the lower leagues a number of years ago.
The Lancashire Sunday League is made up of five senior divisions and remains arguably the toughest Lancashire amateur league to win.
On their way to the championship, they scored 77 goals during the season and conceded only 23 goals - the meanest defence in the division.
Over the past week AFC Preston have been taking part in a number of celebration events in the and hosted their own awards night recently.
At the club's presentation night , Riccardo and Saad were both named joint players of the season.
Yasin and Adnaan were named young players of the year whilst the fans player off the season award went to Aamir.
The club man of the year award went to Robbie Morris.
The side was inspired by a backroom team and supporters dubbed #rogersarmy.
Speaking of the win, manager Naeem Patel, known as Roger, said: "We are delighted to have won the league and we won it in style.
"The aim of this season was to challenge and improve on the previous season's mid-table finish.
"We had some new signings and we moved a few players around into different positions and everything just clicked.
"A huge thank you to all the players and the supporters who have put in a monumental effort in a very competitive local league."
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