ENGLAND Under 17s head coach Steve Cooper is looking forward to bringing his side to their “second home” on Saturday.
The Pirelli Stadium hosts England Under 17s when they take on Russia Under 17s on Saturday with the game being a 1pm kick-off and Cooper is delighted to be at the home of Burton Albion FC for the game.
He says: “Burton is a little bit of a second home for England teams. We go there a lot and we have done a lot over the years. Naturally, it’s the closest stadium to St George’s Park for the development teams. We enjoy going there, it’s a magnificent pitch and hopefully we can get a good crowd.”
The Pirelli Stadium has also been named as one of the venues which will host the UEFA European Under-17 Championship final tournament in May next year.
Chesterfield, Rotherham United and Walsall have also been selected to host the annual UEFA tournament.
Chesterfield will host the opening game and Rotherham United will stage the final, with fixtures taking place between May 4-20.
Tickets will go on sale in January with the final draw taking place at St George’s Park in April.
Cooper is looking forward to the tournament and thinks Rotherham, Chesterfield and Burton are great venues.
He said: “They’re all passionate towns who love their football and have all supported our teams in the past. Hopefully they can do that again."
The game against Russia on Saturday is part of a friendly tournament with England also facing Portugal and Germany.
Cooper said: “I think there are lots of things we can achieve from this event. First and foremost, it’s another England camp for the players. It’s still pretty early on in their international journey – some are getting call-ups for the first time, some have been with us since U15s so it’s really good to get the group back together and playing some games. That’s always important in the U17 year because you’re preparing for finals at the end of the year. The fact we’re hosting this year and playing in the stadiums the games will be played in, it’ll be great to run through what the finals might look like playing in the stadiums at Chesterfield, Rotherham and Burton, we’ve had great experiences there before.
“We’ve got some really strong opposition. Germany Portugal and Russia are going to offer us a really good test as we will for them as well. It’s just a matter of continuing the progress and journey of the team and allowing them to get ready for the finals at the end of the year.”
You can buy tickets for Saturday’s England Under 17s game now.
The easiest way to purchase tickets is online by clicking here. Alternatively, tickets can be purchased over the phone (01283 565938) or in person by visiting the club shop during opening hours.
Ticket prices are as follows:
Adults - £3.00
Children - £1.50
Senior - £1.50
Students - £1.50 (valid NUS card)
Disabled – full price according to age category with carer going free.