South Hunsley School squad are playing in one of nation’s biggest football contests for kids
South Hunsley School girls’ football team, representing Hull City, victorious after playing St John Fisher Catholic Academy, representing Harrogate Town, in an area final of the Utilita Girls Cup(Image: supplied image)
A girls’ football team from East Yorkshire is one step away from playing at Wembley Stadium. The South Hunsley School squad are representing Hull City, in the Utilita Girls Cup.
The national competition, organised by the EFL, pairs school teams with local EFL clubs. The Utilita Girls Cup area finals have been taking place, with winners from each entering northern or southern regional finals – the final step before an incredible Wembley final, taking place prior to the Vertu Trophy final on April 12.
Harrogate Town AFC Community Foundation, in partnership with the EFL in the Community, hosted the Utilita Girls Cup area final, with South Hunsley beating St John Fisher Catholic Academy, representing Harrogate Town, 3-0.
Organisers described it as a “highly competitive event” between the two schools representing their local football clubs and celebrating girls’ football. Two goals from Evie James, with an Izzy Ukachukwu effort sandwiched in between, wrapped up the final success for South Hunsley, who went through the entire tournament without conceding a goal.
Jennie Lee, South Hunsley PE teacher, said: “It’s been a great day with some really good, young talented footballers across the region and I thought our girls were outstanding. Competitions like this are amazing opportunities and it was great to see the tournament played in good spirits in a really friendly atmosphere.
“Girls’ football has been growing massively in our region over recent years and I think the more teams that enter, the more opportunities there are, as shown by the fact that there are so many different rounds to these competitions now. The opportunities that the girls have now are incredible.
“We can’t wait to represent Hull City again in the next round and hopefully it’s another good day out.”
The Utilita Kids and Girls Cups are two of the country’s biggest national football competitions for schools and children. Both tournaments for junior footballers offers schoolchildren the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play at Wembley Stadium, with the competition culminating in exciting finals at Wembley in front of thousands of people before major EFL finals, as schoolchildren live out their dream.
The annual football competition sees more than 20,000 boys and girls each year take to the pitch to represent the 72 EFL clubs across England and Wales, bolstering the existing ties between clubs and their local communities. The competition inspires children to be active, healthy, and develop a strong sense of teamwork, and helped discover stars such as Adam Wharton, Jamal Musiala, and Scott McTominay.