Wembley FC 3-2 Langford FC
The FA Cup with Budweiser
Extra Preliminary Round
12.45pm, Saturday 11 August 2012
Vale Farm, Wembley FC
Live on ESPN
Winning club will receive £1,000 from The FA prize fund
Click here for all the Preliminary Round ties
by Glenn Lavery

Four-time FA Cup winner Ray Parlour says he is delighted to be playing again in football’s most famous knockout competition.

The former Arsenal and England midfielder, who lifted The Cup in 1993, 1998, 2002 and 2003, has joined four other former professionals - Graeme Le Saux, Brian McBride, Claudio Caniggia and Martin Keown - in signing for Combined Counties Premier Division side Wembley FC ahead of the new season.

Four of the five played on Saturday as Wembley defeated Langford in the Extra Preliminary Round and Parlour is excited to be part of this unique venture.

“It’s a really good project they’ve put together,” Parlour told FATV.

“It’s great for the club. Not many clubs can get this opportunity. I’ve done a couple of sessions with their midfielders and they’ve been brilliant. [With] a little more guidance from us and [Technical Advisor] Terry Venables, hopefully they can improve, and that’s what it’s all about. If they can improve 20 per cent as a player they’ve got something out of it.”

Parlour tasted Premier League, Cup Winners’ Cup and League Cup glory during his days at Arsenal, but The FA Cup will always hold special memories for him. As well as accumulating a healthy tally of winners’ medals, he also scored a memorable goal in the 2002 Final against Chelsea.

“I’m very lucky to have played in five FA Cup Finals, winning four of them,” he reflected. “It’s probably the best competition in the world for me, I love it.

“I’m really pleased that I’ve played in The Final but I’ve also played in one of the first-ever rounds of The FA Cup and not many pros can say that, so I’m delighted.”

Wembley FC will now travel to Uxbridge in the Preliminary Round on Saturday 25 August. The winning club will collect £1,750 from The FA prize fund.