Spain is new Street League International 2011
Thursday, 03 November, 2011
Wembley date with World Champions is first ever for charity partner.
The FA today announced that the upcoming home international game against Spain on Saturday 12 November will be the new 2011 Street League International, the first ever for the charity.
The match against the World Champions replaces the previous Street League International in August against Holland, which was unfortunately postponed.
Street League is a charity that uses football to help young people who are out of work to turn their lives around. They are one of The FA’s chosen 2011-12 charity partners and while he was Arsenal captain, their ambassador was Spanish international Cesc Fabregas.
The staff at 10 Downing Street have also chosen Street League as their charity partner for the year. And fittingly, students from Street League met the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Zapatero when he joined the Prime Minister David Cameron, Cesc Fabregas and ITV’s Adrian Chiles at a graduation ceremony in the Downing Street garden earlier this summer.
That graduation ceremony followed an eight-week summer academy which began at Wembley when a group of Street League students were invited by England Manager Fabio Capello to watch the England squad train ahead of their UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland.
Cameron welcomed the news saying: "It’s fantastic that The FA have managed to set up a new Street League International. And it’s fitting that it should be against Spain after all the support that Cesc Fabregas has given to the charity.
"I’m delighted that staff at Downing Street are continuing to volunteer with Street League. Charities like Street League do so much to help young people turn their lives around and they are vital to helping achieve the kind of social recovery we need after the events this summer."
The Street League academy graduates will also be coming to Wembley the day before the Spain game as part of a work shadowing scheme with FA staff. Many of the academy members will be given a unique insight into the match day operations which take place at England’s national stadium.
Street League Chief Executive Matt Stevenson-Dodd said: "Street League is honoured to be part of such a high profile international. The backing of The FA makes a huge difference to our programmes and to the young people we work with. We are extremely proud to be working in partnership together to change lives through football. We also really appreciate the efforts made by everyone at The FA to put this match back on after the postponement of the proposed Street League International against the Dutch last August due to the riots in London."
The FA has also supported a number of Street League’s Match Day tournaments over the past year with the help of FA volunteers at match days as well as donating Umbro kit for the participating teams. The FA recently arranged special visits from England Manager Fabio Capello and England Women’s Head Coach Hope Powell, where Street League participants took part in special Q&A sessions with the Head Coaches, who also handed out prizes and signed shirts to the winning teams. Street League held their annual awards and charity dinner for players, guest and sponsors at Wembley in October 2010.
The FA Chairman, David Bernstein, also commented on the Charity fixture. He said: "The FA is delighted to welcome Street League to Wembley Stadium for the Street League International match, England against Spain, especially after the game against Holland was postponed in August. Street League has been an FA charity partner since 2010 and we’re proud to be associated with such an important football-related charity that has a real impact on people’s lives. The Street League Academy’s attendance at Wembley caps off a wonderful year of activities through the partnerships with Number 10 and Street League."