Martin Keown urges calm confidence in The FA People's Cup

Martin Keown has urged all of the teams involved in this weekend’s FA People’s Cup regional finals to keep their focus on the glory.

Almost 400 teams and 2800 players will be involved at eight venues across England, battling it out for a place at next month’s Finals in Sheffield.

And former Arsenal and England defender Keown, no stranger to the later stages of competitions himself, has paid tribute to those involved since the first round in late January.

"It’s that community spirit, people pulling together and it’s a huge tournament," said Keown.

"I don’t know if there’s been a bigger one, with 35,000 people taking part up and down the country.

"Now, you’re representing your city or area around the country and the teams have almost become local heroes so if you can go on and win it, then that’s quite an achievement.

"It might have started out as a bit of fun, but they’ll all be wanting to win desperately now."

With the People’s Cup giving five-a-side teams from across the country a chance to test themselves against the best from other areas, it also takes Keown back to his days as a youngster at Arsenal aiming to catch the eye in small-sided training games.

"Don Howe [former Arsenal coach] used to do this when I was a young player at Arsenal, they often used to have two youth team players, two reserve team players and a first team players, just for the involvement," he explained.

"You could watch them work and see how professional they are and then compete with them and against the first-team players on the other side.

"That was really great actually and it was a fun day. Don used to work like that, every now and again, we’d do it and it was an opportunity to really catch the eye.

Keown and his former Arsenal team-mate David Seaman celebrate reaching The FA Cup Final in 1998

"We all love five-a-side, it’s a completely different game to 11v11, and it’s nice in the People’s Cup with all the different categories such as disabled, walking football and the girls.

"Although, I don’t know why the veteran category starts at 35, I was still playing in the Premier League at 37, so I could have nipped out and played in this tournament!"

So, having won three Premier League titles and three FA Cups in his career, what would Keown’s advice be to those teams who are currently preparing for the regional finals?

"I’ve been around tournaments and this is no different," added Keown, who also played for Aston Villa and Everton in his career.

"When you get so close to a final, nerves might be there so it’s a case of removing that nervous energy and just pacing yourself a little bit.

The FA People's first round brought plenty of action in January

"Be confident, the standard this weekend will be even higher and hopefully the best will rise to the top.

"You’ve got to get out of your comfort zone a little bit if you want to win something, but do what you’re good at, keep it simple and play in the right spirit."

You can follow live updates from this weekend’s FA People’s Cup through the BBC Get Inspired website.

Click here for coverage of Saturday’s action or click here for Sunday’s fixtures.