Herts kids picked to represent England at international football tournament
It's being held in Sweden next July
Seven pupils from a Hertfordshire independent prep school have been selected to represent England in the world's largest international youth football tournament.
The Gothia Cup is hugely competitive and every year, around 1,700 teams from 80 nations take part. They play around 4,500 matches in total across 110 pitches, so this is an amazing achievement for the local prep-aged children.
Pupils selected include four girls and three boys. All seven of the pupils from York House School will attend the prestigious tournament in Sweden next year, representing England in the World Cup.
Having enjoyed success at the Prep Schools’ Lions trials recently, which includes playing matches against Academies and district teams from other areas in the region, the schools’ achievement in football has gone from strength to strength particularly in the case of the girls’ football team.
Rhiannon Burr, Head of Girls Games at York House School commented: “We are hugely proud of all of our pupils and their achievements and it is wonderful to see more girls competing at this level too, particularly as this is our first year attending and competing. The success has been phenomenal and we have been enjoying celebrating at school.”
The tournament itself is unique; a meeting place for the world’s youth, irrespective of religion, skin colour, gender or nationality, with football as the common denominator.
Jon Gray Headmaster at York House School said: “My thanks goes to our entire PE department for their hard work and enthusiasm in inspiring and motivating our pupils. Our staff have been instrumental in encouraging our pupils to reach for the stars and also in supporting our girls, not only to give football a go, but to participate passionately and to a standard that has been recognised on a national level. This is an amazing opportunity and we couldn’t be more delighted for them all.”
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