November has now come and gone and It’s been a mixed week of results for our academies but overall a very good November.
In Leicester our cat 1 team bounced back to winning ways with a great 3-1 win over fellow league contenders Tresham College. Our boys now sit top of the league as we enter the 2nd half of the season. Our cat 2 squad threw away a great 3-1 half time lead at AFDA as they lost 4-3.
In London the cat 1 team travelled to FAB academy and were rocked with a late penalty, the boys started slow going down 2-0 however pulled it back and even took a 3-2 lead, eventually losing the game 4-3 late on. The cat 2 squad were taking on Lambeth College away only for the game to be postponed early into the 2nd half. A poor display from the home teams behaviour eventually called the game off and we now await a new date from the league for this game to be replayed.
Of the pitch both academies are doing great and hitting the educational targets. A big push now in the final 3 weeks will put us in a great shape to end the year.
At our elite centres things are running great as the Leicester teams start to prepare for our annual Christmas cup. Over the past few weeks we have seen some great results against Derby County, Chesterfield FC and Leicester City. We have also launched our Girls Only academy which is getting busier every week.
In London it’s business as usual as the boys have had some brilliant results and opportunities playing against Brighton & Hove Albion, AFC Wimbledon & Southampton.
We have received interest from Leicester City for one of our U9s and Brighton & Hove Albion for two of our U14s. We wish them good luck with their upcoming trials.
I’m looking forward to a busy December as we finalise our plans for the 2019 Christmas Cup and our biggest adventure yet as we take over 100 people to the Barcelona Nostrum cup in April 2020.
There is always room for improvement in football but I’m extremely proud of all our players, coaches and parents as our academies push on. Let’s make December great.
Mark Smith
U.K. Programme Director