Last Friday, 11 local junior schools came together in an epic tournament held at K2, Crawley. With Maidenbower Junior School crowned champions after a tense penalty shoot-out against Milton Mount Primary School
Northgate Primary School, The Gatwick School, Milton Mount Primary School, Seymour Primary School, Bewbush Academy, Pound Hill Junior School, Waterfield Primary School, Desmond Anderson Primary School, St Margarets School, Maidenbower Junior School and The Oaks Primary School were all invited to play in the tournament, competing in a group stage format, and battling it out through knockout stages to get to the final.
Children were met by Crawley Town Community Foundation’s Premier League Primary Stars coordinator, Nathan Hull on arrival. Before the action got underway, staff reminded children of the Premier League Primary Stars values, Be Fair, Be Ambitious, Be Connected and Be Inspiring. These values were seen throughout the tournament, with many teams inspiring each other to be the best they could be.
As the day kicked off, all teams played some great football, with many students making friends across different schools whilst not playing a fixture, and some players connecting with fellow teammates from grassroots squads.
One student celebrated the success of reaching the semi-final, saying ‘I never thought we would make it that far, some of us have never played football before, but we loved it!’
The final was a tense matchup between Maidenbower Junior School, and Milton Mount Junior School. With both teams wanting to progress through to the regional tournament to be played in Fulham. During the game, both squads played some great football with both creating chances to open the scoring.
Substitutes where chanting from the side-lines, coaches and teachers were supporting their team to try and get to the next round. At full time, the content was goalless, ending in a 0-0 draw, and heading straight to penalties.
Milton Mount kicked off the shootout with an outstanding strike from the spot, however after three amazing saves from the Maidenbower Junior School goalkeeper, they now progress to the next round of the tournament.
We would like to say a huge congratulations to Maidenbower Junior School for getting to the next round for the 3rd year in a row! It is a massive achievement, for the school and for the Premier League Primary Stars programme.
A huge thank you to all our participating schools, and all the staff who made the day run as smooth as possible. For more information on how to get involved in the Foundation’s Premier League Primary Stars programme please visit the Foundation’s website or call 01293 410000.
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