Burton Albion FC to host Girls’ Football Double Header Event at Pirelli Stadium
The ESFA are thrilled to be able to provide young footballers in English schools and colleges the opportunity to compete in our prestigious National Cup competitions, which have seen over 6,800 teams enter, to be in with a chance of becoming this season’s National Champions!This season has seen teams from across the country enter our competitions to be crowned champions and this year sees a double header event at Burton Albion FC, featuring both our Girls’ U18 Schools’ and Colleges’ Cups national finalists. Accrington & Rossendale College and Solihull College are the two remaining teams in the Girls’ U18 Colleges’ Cup and Thomas Telford School and the John Madejski Academy the two remaining teams in the Girls’ U18 Schools’ Cup. These four teams now prepare to play to become the National Champions of their respective competitions at the Pirelli Stadium on Wednesday 16 March 2016.
• ESFA U18 Colleges’ Cup for Girls – 12:00pm KO
• ESFA U18 Schools’ Cup for Girls – 4:30pm KO
The teams have battled it out through five and six rounds, respectively, to make it through to these prestigious National Finals. Previous rounds have been played on local grounds with the teams playing through all kinds of weather to secure their places in the finals.
Andrea Chilton, ESFA CEO said ‘I wish to congratulate all of the teams on their success in reaching the ESFA National Finals. It is testament to the commitment and hard work of players and staff, with the ongoing support of their schools, that they have reached the pinnacle of these competitions. We wish all of our worthy finalists the best of luck for a successful day.’
To support these deserving schools in their final round of this prestigious competition, all information regarding the finalists is available online via the ESFA website (www.esfa.co.uk) and by following the ESFA Twitter account @SchoolsFootball.
Mike Spinks, ESFA Chairman said ‘The quality of the experience the players will have in this match will be a memory that they will retain for the rest of their lives. The ESFA have been running schools’ football for 112 years. I hope these finals will be able to portray the importance of this legacy. Schools’ football is a unique experience for the thousands of schoolchildren who enjoy it every year and the principles of sportsmanship, good behavior, respect for officials and opponents are cornerstones of our philosophy. I hope everyone can feel a great sense of pride in what they and their team have achieved this season’
To celebrate the ESFA’s launch of Girls’ Football Week in April, this all girls’ event will be accompanied by a girls’ football festival thanks to the FA and Continental Tyres. Girls’ teams are invited to sign up to the event and come along to Burton Albion to take part in one of two festival timeslots and then attend a National Final match for free afterwards. We are thrilled that Birmingham City and Doncaster Belles Women’s Super League players, Kerys Harrop and Emily Simpkins will be in attendance to present the Schools’ Cup finalists with their medals and Champions Trophy. The ESFA hope that some words and support by the ladies will help to encourage not only the finalists but other girls’ looking to participate in the sport. Ball Girls for the second match have also been recruited from Burton’s Kingfisher Academy. For full details on how to participate in the accompanying festivals, please see our website.
Both ESGA Girls’ U18 matches will be broadcast live, online and for free via the ESFA’ YouTube channel, courtesy of 247.TV, with full commentary, various camera angles and instant replays – a fantastic opportunity for those who are unable to make it to the stadium to get involved with the action! Fans can also keep up to date on the go by downloading ClubApp for free to their smartphone or tablet and following the ‘ESFA’. The app will provide live updates on scores and match action directly to followers!
The ESFA wish the best of luck to all competing teams at Burton Albion FC this season!