Norbreck Primary School Wins EFL Kids Cup!
On Monday 9th October, Blackpool FC Community Trust hosted our 10th annual EFL Under 11’s Kids Cup tournament. The event took place at Stanley Park on the 4G facilities and was attended by approximately 170 pupils in 19 teams from primary schools across the Fylde Coast.
The EFL in the Community Kids Cup is an invitation event, open to all schools in the Blackpool area, to play in a competitive 7-a-side football tournament against other primary schools. The winners then earn the right to represent their school and Blackpool FC, in the regional finals, with a chance to win the opportunity to play at Wembley Stadium in London during the day of the League One play-off game.
This year we had the option to open out onto the new 4G pitches at Stanley Park, providing four 7-a-side pitches which allowed for faster, exciting games with more attacking styles of football. This made the tournament our best yet, providing a great spectacle for the families watching and inspiring high-quality football from all the schools throughout the day.
The day consisted of four groups, with the top two teams from each group progressing through to the quarterfinals. The group stages were tough affairs with a lot of close results throughout the morning. Teams played games out in great spirit and enjoyed the competitive nature and better pitch format. Thank you to all the teams involved for contributing to another great competition.
After four tense quarterfinals, we progressed to the semi-finals, where we saw Norbreck Academy play St Nicolas in a well-contested match. Norbreck progressed through to the final, where they played Armfield Academy who in their semi-final match defeated Layton Primary in another great game.
The final was a close encounter, with some great moments of defending and counterattacks and the teams just couldn’t be separated in normal time. The game went straight to penalties and Norbreck held their nerve to become this year’s winners! Well done to Norbreck and Armfield for a greatly contested final. Norbreck Primary Academy will now go on to represent their school and Blackpool FC at the regional finals next year.
Mr Fogg, a teacher at Norbreck Primary School said,
“The children enjoyed their fantastic experience at the kids cup this year. The familiar pitch size and game format helped the players showcase their talents and play to the best of their abilities. The teams were competitive, producing exciting games in a short time period, making an exciting spectator experience. As always, the event was well managed with excellent officiating. The live score updates also proved very useful. Our players are really excited to represent Blackpool at the regionals and compete with the best primary schools in the North.”
