Football Academy Tour 2019

After an early start from London on a hazy April morning, our Under-11 and Under-12 teams drove to France for a three-day training and match tour. Many of the boys had never been through the channel tunnel before and were amazed by the experience.

After a long drive, the teams had a training session with French coaches at the semi-pro club US Boulogne Cote de Opale (USBCO) before going on to play two friendly matches. Despite losing both, they showed great sportsmanship and maturity.

The next day it was off to Le Havre Football Club, which was an eye-opening experience as many of the boys had never seen a pro-stadium before. This was followed on the third day by matches at the AS Mark Football Club, where our U-12s came away with a draw and our U-11s were graceful in defeat.

On the way the players stopped at Dunkirk. Here, one of the boys read the poem ‘Miracle at Dunkirk’, we observed a minute's silence and we spoke to the boys about the importance of this historical location.

One of our players said, “The tour was a fantastic experience. It was beneficial for learning about French culture and history, as well as developing my football skills.” A parent agreed, saying, “The tour was absolutely fabulous. It was well organised and incredibly well run.”

Season Highlights

Our U-10 and U-12 teams made it to the finals at the Camden and Regent's Park Youth League tournament, and our U-6 and U-7 teams won their respective tournaments.

Earlier this month, all of our players, their parents and our coaches took part in a sponsored 5K run, and parents-verses-coaches matches were held to raise funds for the programme. Almost 100 people joined in, raising £2,000 to support the programme.

Meanwhile, we have three players training with Arsenal FC, two training with Chelsea FC and three players who have been chosen to represent Middlesex in county football.