Nottingham Ball Bois returned home from Eurogames 2011 in Rotterdam with the Division 1 bronze medal. The achievement went way beyond initial expectations for the tournament, which was Nottingham's first appearance at an international LGBT sports event. The Ballbois squad were joined by guests from Yorkshire and Leicester who played a big part in the medal success.

The tournament took place over three days from July 21-23, with twelve European teams competing in the men's competition.

Day 1 saw the teams split into two random groups of six. The top three from each group would then be placed into Division 1, the bottom three into Division 2. Nottingham got off to a slow start with a 0-0 draw against the combined Birmingham/Amsterdam team and a 1-0 defeat against Village Manchester's second team. A 4-0 thrashing from eventual winners Stonewall followed, and Nottingham were looking at playing the remainder of the tournament in the lower division.

The uncertain form continued against London Leftfooters, with an early lead cancelled out by the opposition. Nottingham managed to pull a goal back towards the end of the game, however, to take their first victory of the day. A much more confident Nottingham went into the final game of the day against Parisian team, Arc en Ciel, with the Ballbois recording a 3-0 victory. The points sent Nottingham up to second in the table and qualification for Division 1 secured. Expectations for the tournament had already been surpassed.

Day 2 was the Division 1 group stages where Nottingham lined up alongside tough opposition which included the widely-tipped Stonewall and Village Manchester 1; current GFSN champions London Titans and two Parisian teams - Arc en Ciel and Panamboyz.

Nottingham had a solid start against Panamboyz, although the match remained at 0-0. Next up was a rematch against the other Parisian team, Arc en Ciel, resulting in another straightforward Ballbois victory, this time 2-0. The heroics of the day came in game three against Manchester 1sts, where Nottingham upset the form book to take an early lead. Following a hard-fought performance, and a little bit of luck on a decision not to award an opposition penalty, Nottingham held on to win 1-0.

The final game of day 2 saw Nottingham again handed a masterclass by Stonewall who won 5-0, however Nottingham ended the day knowing that victory in their final group game would guarantee a spot in the tournament final.

Unfortunately on day 3, Nottingham could not reproduce their earlier group form. Facing London Titans - yet to score a point in Division 1 - Nottingham seemed out of sorts against a rejuvenated opposition, and never recovered from an early Titans goal. Rather than a guaranteed silver medal, Nottingham ended the group stages facing a play-off against Panamboyz to pick up the bronze.

Manager Brett had a tough task to raise the spirits of the team after the disappointment of missing out on the final, but following an inspirational team talk it was the Ballbois of day 2 that took to the field for the third-place play-off. Having taken an early lead, the remainder of the game was tense, with chances missed at both ends of the field. Nottingham retained their composure, however, and held out to take the bronze with a 1-0 victory.

Although Nottingham had let a place in the final slip away, the bronze in Division 1 was a massive achievement for the Ballbois squad, far higher than anyone had realistically expected before the tournament. The result is a testament to the hard work on the field throughout the three days of play, and the spirit of the squad who all played their part both on and off the pitch. Nottingham returned home justifiably happy and proud to be wearing Eurogames 2011 medals.