The Premier League Schools Tournament is a fantastic event which offers hundreds of youngsters the chance to get a glimpse of what it’s like to be a Premier League footballer.
Created to increase participation in football, each of the 20 Barclays Premier League clubs stages it’s own competition to select a school to represent them on finals day. More than 800 schools and 6,500 players battle it out for the right to play in the Final at a Premier League Stadium.
Young people from various local schools who have a partnership with Fulham FC Foundation are set to live out a Fulham fan’s dream by competing in this year’s Premier League Tournament at the Motspur Park Training Ground over the next few months. Comprising of two separate six-a-side competitions, for Girls U13’s and Mixed U11’s Fulham FC Foundation have run these tournaments over the past five/six years, hosting four or five regional tournaments each year, as well as a Fulham FC finals day.
The team’s competing in the national finals subsequently have a day to remember, as they sample a full Premier League match day experience. They will get to use the first team dressing rooms and run out on to the hallowed turf through the players tunnel.
The winners of the Premier League Schools Tournament will get to walk away with a prestigious trophy, but much importantly, they will be known as champions across the land!
Good luck to any teams that are set to compete this year... we’ll be keeping fans up to date with who progresses through the stages this year on these pages.
Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards, paid tribute to last year’s event, praising the children who took part in the final held at Bolton’s Reebok Stadium.
"It has been a fantastic event and a wonderful chance for these youngsters" he said. "To come to a Premier League ground and play on a pitch where some of the best players in the world have performed is a bit of a dream; some of them find it hard to believe it is real".
"It makes me so proud to be part of the Premier League when I come to events like this and see the smiles on the faces of the youngsters. We expanded it to give this dream chance to even more children and it is better than ever."