Local girls welcome FIFA!

The FIFA Inspection Team were given an extra-warm welcome to Wembley Stadium last week by a talented and equally enthusiastic bunch of talented female footballers from the Middlesex County FA Girls Centre of Excellence.

The team began their four-day tour around the cities and stadiums associated with the 2018 England World Cup Bid last Monday and after their first stop at Downing Street, they made the trip to Wembley Stadium where 20 players aged 8-20 were invited along to showcase their skills on the hallowed Wembley turf.

The players, who were treated like VIPs throughout the day, preceded their training session with their own personal tour of the Stadium, a waiter-service lunch and to the delight of all, a comfy-seated, Xbox-laden, holding room.

After a brief rehearsal inbetween rain showers earlier in the day, the girls headed out to begin their training session in front of the awaiting media. With Sky Sports and almost all terrestrial channels covering the FIFA delegation visit, it was inevitable the players and coaches might be nervous but the younger ones present all seemed to take it in their stride and looked at home on the fantastic new pitch at Wembley.

The coaches took the players through a series of ball control drills with guest coach, and member of England’s 2018 World Cup bid team, Kadra Ege also involved throughout. England Manager Fabio Capello welcomed the coaches and watched on with a big smile while the girls pulled some special skills out of the bag.

Then Capello was taken to welcome the FIFA team, whilst the girls continued with their coaching session, only taking a brief glimpse over when the delegates had moved onto the serious issue of penalty taking!

After the FIFA team had left, the players were allowed one final treat to finish off what had been a fantastically memorable day – they got to play a match at Wembley!

Charlotte Edwards, Senior Football Development Officer at Middlesex FA, expressed the excitement of the day: “It has been a fantastic day for everyone involved; the girls have been exceptional not only on the pitch but throughout the day and they will have many wonderful memories and photos to share for years to come.

"I’d like to thank the 2018 bid team for inviting the Middlesex FA Girls Centre of Excellence to be part of such an important day and hope we have played our small part in bringing the World Cup to England in 2018.”