Tournament fever during the European Championships

The Trust has run three football tournaments in the last two weeks as part of the Premier League Primary Stars and Premier League Kicks projects, engaging with partner schools across primary and secondary ages for boys, girls and mixed teams. 

Several different schools took part at Staveley Miners Welfare’s revamped stadium, with Chester the Field Mouse also joining in the fun!

The girls and mixed primary school tournaments also had former Trust staff member and women’s football official Georgia Ball officiating their finals and handing out trophies afterwards, fresh from being an assistant referee at the Women’s FA Cup semi-final earlier this season.

Mr Lynch from Staveley Juniors said: “Many thanks to everyone who helped put on the Y5/6 Girls Football Tournament and the Y3/4 Mixed Tournament. Both teams that I have took had a great morning and a really positive experience to bring back to school. 

“All the extra things you’ve done made it a super experience, like having the mascot, the shooting area and the pro referee and the medals. I appreciate all the organisation that goes into all of it! Thanks again for all your hard work.”

Mr Bradshaw from Newbold Church School added: “What a special experience it was for the Year 3 and 4 children. It was a privilege to be part of such a wonderful event at a high-quality facility. The organisation was exemplary, and the children had a real day to remember.”

Nicole Kemp, who is part of the Community Trust’s Alternate Provision team, said: “This was a fantastic experience for our students and supports the Trust’s inclusion strategy within football and our provision. 

“Following on from the students’ recent win at a tournament in Nottingham, it was important for the players to continue to use sport as a tool to improve their physical and mental wellbeing.”

Reflecting on the tournaments, the Trust’s community manager, Keith Jackson, said: “It’s tournament season across all sports with the Women’s Euros, as well as World Cups coming up this year in Rugby League, Rugby Union and the FIFA World Cup, so it felt really important for us to provide these experiences for children to have real feel for them and at a great facility too. 

“Some of the participants will have been at their first tournament due to the Covid pandemic and the importance of meeting new people from different schools as well as the lessons learned from competition are just some of the values from the day. There are also links to the Premier League values of being Inspiring, Ambitious, Connected and Fair.”

Take a look at the photos in the gallery below: