Five-a-side football complex operator, Vida, is to launch a national competition in partnership with John Smith’s ale.

The £500,000 John Smith’s National Fives tournament will be held across Vida’s 11 sports centres during April and May with the grand final taking place in Manchester.

Any five-a-side team can take part in the competition, which will proceed on a knock-out basis with regional finals ahead of the grand final.

Prizes will be on offer at all levels with the winning team taking home prizes worth up to £3,000.

Vida managing director, Tom Younger, said the John Smith’s National Fives will be the largest event of its kind and ‘underlines the rapid expansion of five-a-side football in the UK’.

Vida, which has a turnover of £6m, was bought by its management in December, for £30m.

The company has recently started work on a new site in Southampton and expects to open a facility in the Republic of Ireland soon. It also plans to announce six further sites in due course and is also looking at expansion into continental Europe.