Two teams of U18 footballers went head to head at St. George’s Park this week for the inaugural Continental Tyres Challenge.
Players from both Belper Town Juniors FC in Derbyshire and Heath Hayes FC in Staffordshire put their Midland allegiance aside for the day when they went head to head at The FA’s National Football Centre.
The teams set out to prove their football ability by tackling tasks testing various aspects of their game from endurance, reaction and power to precision, control and acceleration.
The challenge allows players of all ages and abilities to benchmark themselves against professional players from across the world with high-profile visitors of St. George’s Park also taking part.
Martin Birkett, manager Belper Town said of the day: “The Continental Tyres Challenge was a great experience for all the lads and they thoroughly enjoyed it. Not only were the tasks such as the shoot-out board and speedometer fun, but the element of friendly competition made it a great team building day too”
A Heath Hayes player taking on one of the challenges at St. George's Park
Ben Hollingworth, a player at Belper Town, said: "If you get the chance, take up the Continental Tyres Challenge. It showed me what I needed to improve on, not just overall fitness but speed of footwork too. I really enjoyed the day but the endurance challenge was definitely the toughest part."
Dan Ashworth, FA technical director, said: “The Continental Tyres Challenge is a fantastic opportunity for our grassroots teams playing at St. George’s Park to be put through their paces in a high performance sporting environment.
“Whether it’s testing their endurance skills on the running hill, or reaction speeds on the Batak Board, the various parts of the challenge will help ensure all the players are able to develop their game away from the football pitch.”
Want to take part?
The Continental Tyres Challenge is suitable for teams of any age and ability.
Apply now: continental.challenge@sportcel.com
Felix Ziegler, sponsorship manager at Continental Tyres, the driving force behind the Challenge, said: “As part of our growing commitment to The FA and English football, in cooperation with St. George’s Park, it’s great to give players of all ages and ability the chance to experience training at such an elite facility.
“These two teams had the opportunity to put their names on the board first and set the benchmark for future teams using it. Considering the high profile names that are regularly using this facility there is the potential for some exciting names to take on the challenge in the future.”
