ARN : All the goss, from Gordon
Hello again!
No prizes for guessing what I’m talking about: I’d like to thank NIVO for the amazing football event they organised for members – The Battle of the Vending Industry – which took place at WemBerLey. Ash Ellis – Carabao’s man in vending – also played a big part in making it happen so thanks to him. too. My review of the event? A 5 Star ‘wow’!
Normally, mere mortals like us aren’t even allowed to stand on the hallowed turf and yet there we were, playing football at the spiritual home of football. Everywhere you go behind the scenes at England’s national stadium your mind is racing, even in the toilets. Availing myself of the facilities prior to walking down the tunnel I couldn’t help thinking, ‘Erling Haaland probably had a pee here.’
The only thing missing was a sell-out crowd: we walked onto the pitch to the accompaniment of the theme tune of The Champion’s League and I promise you, I had goosebumps. And those massive screens that show the scores during games, they were on, too. (More of that later).
The scenario was ‘Vending Operators’ versus ‘Vending Suppliers’ and each squad was made up of 30 players. There were no limits on substitutions and thank goodness for that. You think you’re pretty fit until you start running around on the famous strength-sapping turf – after the 80 minutes we were all knackered. Some of the players, (between you and me, the older ones) just wanted to be able to say they’d kicked a ball at Wembley so they were on-and-off. (Take a bow Nebrak’s Paul Howard). The rest of us woke up the next morning with aches in muscles we’d forgotten about.
Who cared?!
It was a brilliant, just brilliant day from beginning to end. I mean, apart from the result because our team, The Suppliers got spanked 6-1. And that’s with 5 ARN men to choose from. (Although one of us, who shall remain nameless, scored through his own goal…)
And finally, back to the Big Screens. As you know, we lost our Business Development Manager, Kyle Ingram-Baldwin, last June; in tragic circumstances. Football was a massive part of Kyle’s life. He ran a mental health football service for men in Minster, near Ramsgate in Kent, called ‘Project Talking Football’ and he would have loved this event more than any other. So, when a huge picture of Kyle appeared on the screen and there was a minute’s applause, the emotions were raw. What a moment that was…
That’s it for now; except that I’d like to take this opportunity, on behalf of ARN, to thank all our NIVO friends for their fantastic support in 2025 and to wish you all a very happy, peaceful and prosperous New Year.
See you next time.
Gordon
Gordon Johnston is Sales Director at the UK’s premier vending wholesaler – ARN
NIVO’s Journey to Wembley
NIVO’s Battle of the Vending Industry returned for 2025 on Monday 8th December 2025, at the spiritual home of football, Wembley Stadium.
NIVO brought together members from across every part of the Vending Industry for an extraordinary event.
After last year’s Battle of the Vending Industry at the home of Barnsley F.C. NIVO knew it was time to up the stakes. Thanks to their lead sponsor and NIVO Supply Member Carabao, NIVO were able to secure the most famous football pitch in the world for our 2025 event.
After that, it was full steam ahead as the NIVO Team hired managers, put together the teams, created a bespoke kit, and designed an event eliciting passion from every player and celebrating an amazing industry.
The Match
Teams representing both sides of the vending industry battled it out for a handsome trophy. Team managers Joe Scarborough (Team Operators) and Lee Jenkins (Team Suppliers) did their best to rally their teams but at the final whistle, The Operators won the day by an impressive 6-1 margin.
Everyone was in high spirits throughout the day, even smiling through the heavy rain during the second half. ‘A childhood dream come true’ were the words on the lips of many attendees after the event.
NIVO General Manager Michelle Hefferon called it ‘an amazing, without fault event’, adding: ‘I’ve never seen a game of football played so well by non-professionals. We are already planning next year’s return match, so watch this space.”
NIVO In The Community
The NIVO Battle of the Vending Industry is in aid of raising money for NIVO In The Community, allowing NIVO to provide monetary donations every quarter for the communities that help make up our industry.
Stay in touch! Visit Planet Vending
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