Nine and ten year old children from five Sports Partnerships in Dorset took part in the Festival, with squads organised by Dorset Partnership Development Officers.

Each squad represented a country at Euro 2004, with children coming dressed in the colours of their adopted country.

The afternoon’s activities commenced at 1.00 pm with an Opening Ceremony, followed by a warm-up and then a tournament with teams playing in the four Euro 2004 Groups. Each child taking part received a Medal and a Certificate.

Faye White, the Arsenal and England Women’s Team Captain was the festival’s ‘special guest’ who opened the Festival, as well as passing on a few tips to the children during the afternoon.

During the next two months The FA’s School-Club Link programme will be launched in Dorset, part of the Government’s national £539 million PESSCL project (Physical Education and School Sport Club Link project).

The programme in Dorset will link FA Charter Standard Clubs with schools in their area, increasing the number of 5-16 year old children regularly participating in the ‘beautiful game’. The first two projects in Dorset will take place in Portland and Gillingham.

Football Clubs or Schools that take part in the PESSCL Project will receive a 3 Lions FC kit bag containing practical equipment, coaching cards and promotional material. Schools and Clubs can also access a festival pack to run a football festival.

The Dorset FA’s Football Development Manager, Sue Hough said: "This Festival gives us the opportunity to work with our partners in Education and to afford children of all abilities the opportunity to take part in a fun afternoon of football.

"Hopefully, it also encouraged the children to play more regularly, assisting in the development of a healthy lifestyle".

The Dorset County FA have placed increasing importance on working with education partners, committing to using the ‘Power of Football’ to positively engage children.

Another example of this has been a new initiative where Dorset FA Development Staff have visited local schools and taken a class of Key Stage 2 children for the day.

During the day football is used as a tool to help children learn about the importance of taking regular exercise, healthy eating and the dangers of smoking.

Children taking part in the festival have been using The FA’s education resource pack, ‘England: Ready For Euro 2004’.

Packs are free of charge to all primary schools and can be downloaded by clicking here.