St George's Park celebrated its fifth anniversary earlier this week. To mark the national football centre’s big day, a five-hour five-a-side football tournament took place in the futsal hall.
Teams included: William Shrewsbury, De Ferrers, Paulet High School, Wolgarston School, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue and Staffordshire Police – all of whom had used the facility in some capacity previously.
Gemma Lawley [England Schools, Birmingham City Ladies and Staffordshire Schools FA], Alex Hallchurch [Port Vale youth and Staffordshire Schools FA], goalkeeper Sam Edmunds [Staffordshire School] and Macey Turvey [Wolves Women], were among the participants while Jess Bird, a former Wolgarston student and now a full-time employee at the East Staffordshire venue after completing an FA Apprenticeship programme, shared her experiences.
Sky Sports News were live on site and broadcast throughout the day.
Reporter Geraint Hughes chatted to staff members such as futsal head coach, Michael Skubala, general manager Holly Murdoch as well as FA Education’s Les Howie [head of grassroots] and Justyn Price [Performance Education Lead].
England men’s U20 coach Mark Robson was also on hand to present medals and discuss the Three Lions’ youth set-up.
The unveiling of the recently named ‘Sir Bobby Charlton pitch,’ to coincide with the 1966 World-Cup winning legend’s 80th birthday, kick-started the celebrations a week prior.
The day allowed guests and staff members alike to reflect on the successes to date and also look ahead to goals and aims for the future. Here’s to the next five years!
Check out our video of the day.
