SPORTSMANSHIP PRIZE WINNERS
VISITS TO WEMBLEY
Tuesday 20th September – Primary Wembley Stadium Tour
Following their win of the Muntham Primary Sportsmanship Award, Vinnie and Theo enjoyed a trip to Wembley Stadium including a full Stadium tour, where they were able to tread the same steps as some of the greats.
Upon entering, the first point of interest was the crossbar from the controversial goal, in the 1966 World Cup where England beat West Germany 4-2 to win their first World Cup. Along with this iconic wooden crossbar, was the 1966 cup itself, an old turnstile from the original Wembley Stadium (known as the Empire Stadium), and plenty of other memorabilia and relics of the past.
After this pupils were taken through to one of the first-tier grandstands, from where we had an amazing view of an empty, vast Stadium. The tour guides did a fantastic job of filling us in on all sorts of facts about Wembley, including the fact that it has more toilets than any other Stadium in the world - a fact that Vinnie and Theo very much enjoyed!
From there the tour led us down to the media conference room. Here pupils had the chance to sit behind the interview desk where so many of their heroes, along with pop icons and world champions had sat before.
After the conference room, they were led to the England Team change rooms, where Theo and Vinnie made it their mission to take a photo of every single one of the superstar's jerseys that were hanging up around the walls. This was a humbling place to be, knowing how many incredible talents had walked those floors.
Once we left the changing rooms, we were led to "the tunnel". This was a truly amazing part of the tour. All thirty-six people on the tour lined up in two lines, as if on opposing teams. On the count of three, we all roared and ran out of the tunnel onto the side of the pitch. It was an amazing feeling, and the boys could not stop smiling. The view from the pitch side was unreal. The stadium is unbelievably large once it surrounds you, and I could only imagine the feeling of ninety thousand people screaming down at you.
This was an amazing tour, which Vinnie, Theo, and the staff thoroughly enjoyed. What a fantastic experience, especially for two young football enthusiasts!
Monday 26th September – Secondary England vs Germany Wembley Game
Following their win of the Muntham Secondary Sportsmanship Award, Alfie and Kion were ecstatic to know that they would be going to witness their national England team play possibly their greatest sporting rivals of the modern era - Germany.
On arrival at Wembley Stadium, the crowds were singing and cheering with great excitement in the anticipation and lead-up to the game. Alfie and Kion were full of smiles throughout as they snapped a photo with the iconic Bobby Moore statue before lining up alongside their fellow England supporters awaiting entry to the stadium.
Once within the stand and having found our seats the atmosphere was electric, and Alfie and Kion couldn’t wait for kick-off, getting out their England flags and flying them with pride in their national team, taking photos and videos of the enormity of Wembley, and singing along with the crowds.
It was a tense game indeed with England looking promising in the first half against their old foes, hinting at good things without making them happen. And then it all threatened to fall apart, leaving Alfie and Kion up and down in their seats throughout.
England was the more dangerous team before the interval, creating openings, including the big one on 25 minutes when Shaw released Sterling with a lovely through-ball and Sterling had a great opportunity but was denied by Ter Stegen. It was 'nearly but not quite' for England.
Two second-half goals from Germany looked to have them on their way to victory, but England leveled the score in a span of five minutes, “come on England”. VAR then awarded England a penalty, which Kane converted to give England the lead. However, Germany tucked away another to reach the final scoreline of the night.
It wasn’t quite the win the boys had hoped for, but nevertheless a wonderful game to witness as England roared back the 3-3 draw against Germany, which made for a thrilling final World Cup warm-up.
Leaving the stadium, Alfie and Kion were disappointed to not witness a victory, but were overjoyed and humbled to have experienced such an exciting and significant football match. An incredible evening for all.
