The Somaliland Blades, representing FURD, came within a whisker of being the inaugural winners of the Mel Rees Memorial Tournament, played at the Blades Academy ground on 5 July 2003.
After topping their group following wins over Junior Blades (1-0), Internet Owls (3-1), plus a 2-2 draw with Crewe Alexandra fans, the team thrashed the SUFC backroom staff 6-1 to move into the final, where they again met the Junior Blades.
In a game of few chances, the Somalilanders went down by the odd goal in a keenly-contested final. However they won many admirers by their skills and trickery, and have already been invited back to next year´s rerun, whilst Abdullah Ahmed was the player of the tournament.