Rachel Pavlou, F.A. Regional Development Manager for the Midlands, said: "It was a fantastic showpiece to have the most talented girls in the country all together on one day. The standard of football has really improved since we established the event and it was fantastic to have so many teams there in the three age groups.

"Now we're looking forward to the regional Talent Camps to judge the standard of football of the girls coming through."

From the F.A. Women's Football Committee, Peter and Sue Hough were there to witness the tremendous improvement in standards of football. The girls were also able to do some star spotting on the day with two ex-England players, Marieanne Spacey and Mo Marley, present at the event in their scouting capacities and current players Angie Banks and Pauline Cope there with their respective club representative sides.

This was the fourth year of the event, with the numbers of girls taking part having tripled since 1998. This year special thanks went to Lucozade who provided free drinks for all the players, coaches, referees and volunteers.

The festival was a fitting climax to a great season for the Centres coming weeks after the AFA Centre of Excellence League completed the second season. The League is the first of its kind in the country and brings together 450 of the elite young female players in the South East of England. The League is organised by the Amateur Football Alliance, endorsed by The Football Association and sponsored by Puma.

Puma for the last two seasons have very generously provided match balls and other equipment for every team in the league as well as providing excellence prizes for the football festivals at Regents Park which start and finish the league. However, the most extravagant prize they supply is a £1,000 sponsorship deal for the most impressive player over the season. The standard and level of play within the league has increased dramatically.

For season 2002-03 the league will involve four age groups, Under-10, Under-12, Under-14, and Under-16, with the Under-16's becoming a competitive league. The three younger age groups will be solely based on development rather than competition.

The AFA Regents Park Football Festival took place on Saturday 27th April. The day was a great success with over 450 female players present from four major age groups - Under-10, Under-12, Under-14 and Under-16.

The league and the festivals are going from strength to strength with more teams and more Centres joining our unique event each season. On the day there were a number of awards presented by Leanne Champ of Arsenal and England, a former F.A. Centre of Excellence player.

Leanne Champ is a great ambassador for the AFA Centre of Excellence League. Leanne stated: "The AFA Centre of Excellence League is a great way for young players to develop and react their full potential. The standard of these players is excellence and I'm pretty sure I will be playing along side or against some of them in the near future."

Kylie Davies from the Under-14 Girls' Centre of Excellence at Wimbledon FC was announced as the Puma Centre of Excellence Player Of The Season on Saturday April 27th at the Centre of Excellence League Festival held at Regents Park.

The league and the 'Player Of The Season' awards are sponsored by Puma, who have rewarded Kylie with a kit deal worth £1,000. Centre of Excellence Director Tessa Payne was delighted with this achievement. She said: "Kylie is a dedicated young player with enormous talent and has proved her ability throughout the season with her consistent performances, impressing all other clubs within the league. I hope that this award will help her to gain the national recognition she deserves within the women’s game."

Clubs playing in the only Girls Centre of Excellence league include Arsenal, Charlton, Colchester, Chelsea, Fulham, Leyton Orient, Millwall, Reading, Southampton and Wimbledon. This was an on-going award that ran throughout the AFA Centre of Excellence League season with opposing coaches voting for a player of the match in each game. All votes throughout the season were counted for all players within each of the three age groups. Players in the Centres include over 450 of the very best young female footballers in the London and South-East region.

The competition was extremely close and two Millwall Lionesses players came in at second place, only one vote behind the Wimbledon player. The two players were Sox Goodall at the Under-12 age group and Sain Senior at the Under-14 age group.