England footballers will lead The FA’s commemorations around Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day at Wembley Stadium and St. George’s Park.
This year’s remembrance period has extra significance. It is 100 years since the start of the First World War and the 70th anniversary of the Second World War
D-Day landings.
There will be a period of silence at every FA Cup First Round tie starting with Friday’s televised match between Warrington Town and Exeter City – while teams can choose to wear poppies.
The arch at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday
Wembley itself will 'wear' a poppy with a special digital display on the front of the stadium, along with special activity in conjunction with the NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars on Remembrance Sunday.
At 11am on Tuesday 11 November at St. George’s Park, the England men’s senior and Under-21 squads along with coaching staff and FA personnel will lead a two-minute silence.
The England delegation will be joined by members of the Armed Forces, and wreaths will be laid in the centre-circle.
Football Remembers week begins on 6 December
A similar silence will be observed back at Wembley.
In all, the seven England teams in residence at St. George’s Park – including various men’s and women’s development squads, as well as the England blind squad and cerebral palsy team – will be observing the silence.
FA President HRH The Duke of Cambridge and Theo Walcott judged a schools' design competition and chose Spencer Turner, 10, from Newcastle as the winner.
The Christmas Truce memorial is part of a wider Football Remembers project involving The FA, the Premier League, the Football League and the British Council.
Schoolboy Spencer Turner is informed he has won the competition by Newcastle pair Adam Armstrong and Steven Taylor
The aim is to engage football fans and players at every level about what took place on Christmas Day 100 years ago on the battlefields in Belgium.
On 25 December 1914, soldiers from both sides put down their weapons and crossed into ‘no man’s land’ to share in an impromptu ceasefire.
First-hand accounts from the time include references to football being played and photographs taken.
To mark this, for all professional and grassroots matches taking place from 5-14 December, all players involved will pose together in a mixed group photograph as a mark of respect to those on both sides who took part in the 1914 Christmas Truce.
“It remains wholly relevant today as a message of hope over adversity, even in the bleakest of times”
HRH The Duke of Cambridge FA President
Clubs and schools will be asked to upload their pre-match pictures via social media during Football Remembers Week.
All photos uploaded using #FootballRemembers will be uploaded and archived to a website – with details to follow.
The site shall act as a record of football’s commemorations in 2014 and preserved for future generations.
Speaking of football’s Christmas Truce commemoration, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, President of The FA, said: “It promises to be a powerful way to engage and educate young people about such an important moment in our history.
"We all grew up with the story of soldiers from both sides putting down their arms on Christmas Day, and it remains wholly relevant today as a message of hope over adversity, even in the bleakest of times.”
