On 18 May 2022, the Premier League Primary Stars Tournament hosted the inaugural Girls’ Under 11 National Finals at the home of Watford FC, Vicarage Road. More than 1000 teams representing over 100 professional football clubs across the English football pyramid took part in the qualifying rounds, with the top 20 teams progressing to the Finals and having a shot at being crowned champions. Among these 20 teams, the NLT was proudly represented by two of its community organisations – Altrincham (Bowdon Church School) and York City (Huntington Primary Academy).
Every participating Finals player had the full Premier League matchday experience, including using the same dressing rooms as the professionals, walking down the tunnel and onto the field of play to the sound of the iconic Premier League anthem, for matches officiated by Premier League match officials. Minister for Sport, Nigel Huddleston MP, was the guest of honour, along with several MPs for competing clubs, senior club staff from Watford FC and the Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Masters.
Simon Dow, Community Manager at Altrincham FC in the Community said: “The school representing us is Bowdon Church School. The girls are a fantastic team who were due to compete in the Northern NLT finals when COVID hit. After battling through a hard group in the Manchester Regional tournament, Altrincham faced Man City in the final, and narrowly lost 1-0 after dominating the final. We are so proud to have Bowdon Church School representing Altrincham FC at the Premier League National Finals at Vicarage Road.”
Phil Smith, Operations Manager at York City FC Foundation had this to say: “Huntington Primary Academy, York have had a great season winning the event in York and then winning the Yorkshire Regionals to reach the National Final here at Vicarage Road. We are really excited to see the girls down at Watford this week, the team has done so well to get this far and it will be a fantastic day out for them. As a Foundation we are delighted that the team has got this far, we wish them all the very best of luck and cant wait to see how they do.”
After an intense day of competition, twenty teams had been whittled down to just two. The Final saw Newport County representatives Caerleon Lodge Hill Primary line up against Bowden Church Primary (representing Altrincham FC). The fight was fierce, the passion clearly on display, the players giving everything they had to give and then – the final whistle. Football is often a game won by the smallest of margins, and so it was today. Altrincham FC’s Bowden Church Primary fought to the end but they could not overcome the 1-0 deficit, which meant that Newport County’s Caerleon Lodge Hill Primary were crowned the first ever Premier League Primary Stars U11s National Girls Tournament champions.
Well done and congratulations to all participants, and for highlights across the two days please see here.
