Wimbledon Double Bill at Wembley!

There will be a Wimbledon double bill at Wembley this weekend when the boys from Cleves School compete in the Kinder +Sport Football League Kids Cup at Wembley, leading the way for the first team who will then compete in the play-off finals against Plymouth for a place in league 1!

Joe Roberts, AFC Wimbledon Foundation’s Sports Development Manager, said: “We are proud that Cleves School have earned the opportunity to represent the club at Wembley and it’s even better that the first-team will be bidding for promotion on the same day. The performances from Cleves School’s footballers and their behaviour off the pitch has been a real credit to them and the football club. Let’s hope for a double on the day!”

Here is a special message from the boys at Cleves School, wishing The Dons good luck! This is followed by Ade Akifenwa, Lyle Taylor and the rest of the team returning the well wishes and giving a special shout out to all of the team:

 

 

New National Sport Strategy Tackles Inactivity

The Football League Trust is backing Sport England’s new Strategy for the future of sport that was released this week.

As well as continuing to support people who already play sport, there will be a much greater emphasis on groups who are typically much less active such as women, disabled people and those from lower-socio-economic backgrounds. 1487811_871411929554348_345700788928764935_o

Mike Evans, Director of Operations at the Football League Trust, comments, “The new strategy places a much stronger emphasis on the benefits that taking part in sport can bring, such as improving both physical and mental health, social cohesion and reducing crime. This is an approach that 72 Football League Community Trusts in our network have been taking with considerable success for a numerous years.  For example our Female Football Development programme, is very much about getting inactive women and girls from all backgrounds involved in sport with the focus firmly on fun and fitness.”

Arsenal and England women’s footballer Jordan Nobbs visits the Checkatrade.com Stadium Ball Court on Monday to promote the Crawley old girls (COGS) initiative. COGS is aimed at older ladies who have an interest in football and was set up through the Crawley Town Community foundation with funding from the Football League Trust Female Football Development scheme. James Boardman / TELEPHOTO IMAGES 07967642437

Sport England will spend £250 million to combat inactivity as part of five-year strategy which also include dedicated funding to get children and young people active from the age of five, Mike continues. “Because football clubs are in the heart of their communities they are very effective at getting young people active. Our Trusts an incredible amount of work in schools already with programmes such as Kinder+Sport Move and Learn are getting children active as well as teaching them the benefits of healthy eating.” 32

More about the strategy

The strategy will help deliver against the six health, social and economic outcomes set out in the Government’s Sporting Future strategy.

Key features of the new strategy are:   

  • Dedicated funding to get children and young people active from the age of five, including a new fund for family based activities and offering training to at least two teachers in every secondary school in England to help them better meet the needs of all children, irrespective of their level of sporting ability
  • Working with the sport sector to put customers at the heart of everything they do, and using the principles of behaviour change to inform their work
  • Piloting new ways of working locally by investing in up to 10 places in England – a mix of urban and rural areas
  • Investing up to £30m in a new volunteering strategy, enabling more people to get the benefits of volunteering and attracting a new, more diverse range of volunteers
  • Helping sport keep pace with the digital expectations of customers – making it as easy to book a badminton court as a hotel room
  • Working closely with governing bodies of sport and others who support people who already play regularly, to help them become more efficient, sustainable and diversify their sources of funding.

Read the new strategy Towards an Active Nation.

Community Trust Secure Prestigious Accolade

Bristol City Community Trust has become one of a select number of organisations across 75 countries in the world, to achieve the prestigious silver status in the Investors in People accreditation.

Such a status recognises outstanding management, communication and training within businesses and organisations, with just 6% of those seeking Investors in People achieving the coveted silver status.

Community Trust director Amy Kington expressed her delight, saying: “I am so incredibly proud to work with such an amazing group of people who have gained this award.

“Our staff and trustees put themselves out every day to deliver programmes which respond to the challenges faced by many people in our City,” she continued. “I am incredibly proud of what they do and how we do it. It’s their award and they deserve it!”

Paul Devoy, Head of Investors in People, said: “Achieving the Investors in People Silver standard is something that any organisation should be truly proud of… It is the sign of a charity which is very committed to good people management practice and we’d like to congratulate Bristol City Community Trust on their achievement… To achieve the initial Investors in People status a company or organisation has to meet 39 tough standards over the way they train and develop their people. To achieve silver status a further 76 evidence requirements must also be met.”

Walk On, Walk On

Over a thousand men from across the country have been competing for a place at the prestigious St Georges Park for the Walking Football National Finals next month. Providing participants with an opportunity to live out their dreams by representing their local team, the game is a brilliant way for the older generation to stay active. Growing year-on-year, 51 of the 72 clubs took part this year, making the competition tougher than ever.

Allowing the older generation to participate in a sport that they love. The slow-paced version of the game which is aimed specifically at the over 50’s, allows participants to cover 30 miles and burn 4,200 calories over a 3 month period, just by playing for 1 hour a week.

Every May and June, we run the Walking Football Cup, in which EFL Clubs hold a local competition through their community trust. The winners are then selected to represent their club at a regional level. The top 2 teams in each region then qualify for the finals. Last year, Plymouth took the winning title with a 2-1 win in the final against Blackpool. Walking football has been growing year-on-year, and with 56 of the 72 clubs taking part this year, the competition has been tougher than ever.

Commencing in Derby on Monday 9th May, teams representing Derby County, Burton Albion, Nottingham Forest, Mansfield Town, Walsall, Crewe Alexandra, Coventry City and Wolverhampton Wanderers all made the trip to the Moorways Sports Centre to take part in the Regional Finals of the competition. Mansfield Town were the overall winners, beating Nottingham Forest 1-0 in the the final. 14th May will saw the remaining 4 finals take place. With over 40 teams taking part throughout the day at Blackpool, Doncaster, Exeter and Luton. The national final takes place on 7th June.

Hilton Primary School Prepare to Represent Derby at Wembley

A group of under 11 boys from Hilton Primary School have gone through their last steps of preparation before representing Derby County at Wembley for the Kinder+ Sport Football League Kids Cup Final.

Winning the Derby County Community Trust’s local and regional finals, Max Tolley, Kaide Gordon, Jack Leighton, Josh Pearch, Ben Horleston, Alex Birch, Harry Atwal & Jack Harrison qualified to represent Derby at Wembley in the National final on Saturday (28th May). It is there that they will take on representatives from Ipswich Town on the pitch ahead of the Championship Play Off Final.

Derby County Community Trust have been on hand to prepare the boys for the National Final. Friday 20th May saw coaches from the trust visit Etwall Leisure Centre for their last training session before Wembley. The session entailed passing and shooting drills, as well as a rundown of what to expect on the day of the final, where they will be treated as professional footballers.

The Hilton Primary School boys will also be given the opportunity to watch Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday battle it out for a place in the Premier League.

Following the training session, Hilton Primary Teacher Julia Coxon said:

“The boys are really excited to be playing at Wembley and can’t believe they’ve got this chance. Most of them have ambitions to go on and become famous footballers so it’s great that the Derby County Community Trust and Football League have given them an opportunity to play on such a big stage.”

On the teams’ route to the final she added: “Everyone at the school is so proud of them and what they’ve achieved, having beaten off competition from 80 other local schools to represent Derby County, then to come out on top against 12 teams at the regionals is a fantastic achievement. We are all behind them to go all the way on Saturday!”

Mansfield Kids Wembley Dream Come True

Ahead of their dream day a Wembley next week we look back at how the kids from Mansfield Town booked their dream day under the Wembley arch.

The journey to Wembley for Samuel Barlow School began back in November.

They progressed through the stages of a tough local competition and beat Croft School 1-0 in the final; a game that was played at Field Mill during half time of Town’s game with Luton.

This secured them a place in the regional finals in March and a trip to Morecambe where they topped their group thanks to wins against Nottingham County, Hartlepool and Northampton.

A confident semi-final win over Accrington Stanley booked a place in the final against Morecambe.  The final was a cagey, tense affair and nothing could separate the teams in normal time.

Mansfield got the only goal of the game in extra time to clinch their dream day at the national stadium.

Drama From the Spot

A terrific Home Park season concluded with the Pilgrims smashing five past Hartlepool and then that thrilling play-off win over Portsmouth, but there was also plenty of action during the interval.

Argyle Community Trust staged their final Kinder +Sport Move and Learn penalty shootout during half-time of the Hartlepool game, and it was another thriller, as St Peter’s RC Primary School edged past Widewell Primary School with an 8-7 victory.

Both schools were given the chance to participate in the shootout after completing the six-week Kinder +Sport Move and Learn programme, which has proven to have a positive impact on youngsters by using sport to improve their appreciation of the need for a healthy lifestyle.

The children involved watched the game from the acclaimed Family Stand area at Home Park, taking part in mini football matches, air hockey, pool, boxing, table tennis, and table football.

Kinder +Sport Kids Cup Finalist Given Tour of the Stadium

Since representing Peterborough in the regional finals of the Kinder +Sport Kids Cup in Coventry, Eye C of E Primary School have become local champions!

The boys were invited to ABAX Stadium in Peterborough for the last home game of the season, taking a ground tour, and being paraded around the stadium!

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As a result of their victory, the boys have been given the once in a lifetime opportunity to play the North England Champion in the national finals, prior to the League One Play-Off Final on Sunday 29th May!

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The successful players were Matthew Mills, Cameron Broomfield, Sam Johnson, Ellis Young, George Whiteman, Riley Taylor, Luke Simpson Morris and Hayden Brown.

Headteacher Mr J. Webster was delighted: “What a fantastic achievement! We are so proud of the lads and are now busy getting as many parents and children as possible together to make the trip to Wembley to support our team.”

 

 

Britannia School to represent Ipswich Town in the Kinder +Sport Football League Kids Cup Final

Dreams became a reality for Britannia School back in March when they participated in the the Kinder +Sport Football League Kids Cup tournament in Reading. Taking the winning title, the boys were given an opportunity of a life time to to represent Ipswich Town F.C. at Wembley!

This lovely article written by Mr Williamson at the school perfectly describes the boys progress, and makes us at the Football League Trust proud to contribute in making dreams come true! Read more here.

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FA Cup Girls’ Football Festival A Winner

Women’s football was a big winner last weekend with SSE Women’s FA Cup Final and FA Girls’ Football Festival both thriving successes

Wembley saw a fantastic SSE Women’s FA Cup match on Saturday with Arsenal Ladies successfully securing the prestigious title for a record 14th time. Prior to the match the atmosphere was buzzing with another fantastic FA Girl’s Football Festival at Wembley Powerleague. The festival was run by The FA, Premier League and the Football League Trust and saw over 200 girls from 20 clubs across England participating in 5-a-side matches as well as getting involved with a huge array of fun football activities.

This unique tournament is a celebration of the over 60,000 young women who have joined the world of football since October 2013 through the Football Participation Programme. The festival was a great day for young girls to get out on the pitch with their team mates and compete against other clubs. The games were competitive and exciting for the U-16 participants who were specifically invited by the Football League Trust and Premier League with Brighton and Hove Albion FC, coming out victorious wining the tournament. Being at Wembley Powerleague was a great opportunity for the girls to show off their skills in the shadows of Wembley Stadium connected by EE, perhaps driving them in the future to aspire to play themselves on the hallowed turf.

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Wigan Athletic participant: “This has been such a fantastic day! Having the opportunity to be at Wembley is incredible for us. The festival was great to take part in between our games, especially competing on the speed cage. Now we all can’t wait for the SSE Women’s FA Cup Final; it’s going to be brilliant!”

The FA’s commitment to encouraging more girls to get stuck into the game through their “We Can Play” campaign, which has provided a fun day out for clubs, their players and families. With football-based activities and competitions keeping festival-goers busy and active, it really is an all-round success. Skill driven exercises such as the ever popular batak board reaction testing and target shooting were an excellent opportunity for keen players to check up on their abilities and see how they might improve their game!

During the downtime, there was music, hair braiding and face painting on site. All round The FA Girls’ Football Festival in association with Continental Tyres Festival had something for everyone.

If this wasn’t enough action already, Oxford United players, Katharine Nutman and Lauren Haynes made a special appearance showing off their football skills and answering questions about playing at the top of the game. This was a real inspiration for younger players.

Katharine Nutman said: It was a fantastic occasion and a real celebration of how far women’s and girl’s football has come in recent years. There were a great variety of activities for the girls to get involved with and it was great to see girls of different abilities all enjoying themselves.

With the Premier League and The Football League Trust supporting women in football across the country and delivering sessions through their member clubs, the future will see many more young women joining the game!