On Friday 6th May 2022, Primary Schools from across England, travelled to the CBS Arena in Coventry to attend the ESFA U11 7v7 Inter-School Primary School Finals. The event saw the best primary school teams in the country competing for the title of National Champions.
The ESFA U11 7v7 Inter-School competitions have been contested across England from the start of the 2021/22 season, with teams having to progress through District, County and Regional rounds to qualify for the prestigious national final. This intense qualification process makes the achievement of competing in these National Finals, an impressive achievement for all the teams involved. Three National titles were up for grabs – the School Teams’ Cup, Girls’ Cup and Small Schools’ Cup.
The event kicked off with the group stages, where the 8 qualified teams were split into two groups. The group stages was played in a round robin format and the top two teams progressed to the knockout stages of the their respective competitions. These teams then progressed to the semi-finals and eventually the final, where the teams faced 16 minutes of football for a chance to lift the trophy.
The Schools’ Team Cup Final was up first between Manor Lodge School from Hertfordshire and St Marys Catholic Primary School from Kent. St Marys Catholic High School came away with a 3-1 Victory in the Final to be crowned National Champions!
The Girls’ Cup final was up next between Days Lane Primary School from Kent and Valley Garden’s Middle School from Cheshire. Days Lane, after coming second in their group to their fellow finalists came away with a 2-0 win to lift the trophy.
The Small Schools’ Cup Final rounded off the day with St Paul’s CofE Primary School from Kent facing Kingsland CofE Primary School from Herefordshire. The final was a fantastic advert for Schools’ football with late goals and a dramatic penalty shootout to decide the winner. Kingsland CofE Primary School eventually came out on top and were crowned National Champions.
It was fantastic to see so many talented young footballers enjoying playing football with their school friends and getting to experience what it is like to play in a professional football stadium.
The full set of results from the day can be found here.
Stay tuned for a round up video of the event, capturing all the key action alongside interviews with the players and team management staff.
A big thank you to our friends at Mark Harrod for supplying the goals for this event. For more information on Mark Harrod, click here.
Photo Credits: 353 Photography
The National Governing Body for Schools’ Football in England.