English Schools' Football Association

Kings’ School in Winchester was the latest school to be selected to hold an ESFA and PlayStation Tie of the Round event last Thursday, 4 December. The school enjoyed a PlayStation experience to remember as their sports hall was transformed into a PlayStation gaming zone for the day, including a competitive FIFA 15 tournament on the PlayStation 4 to decide the school’s top FIFA player. Students also got to hone their skills on the pitch with English Schools’ FA coaches hosting football skills sessions throughout the day.

Children at the school were treated to an early Christmas present in the form of Southampton and England Goalkeeper, Fraser Forster, as he paid them a visit less than 24 hours after his man-of-the-match performance against Arsenal.

Fraser during his Q&A session with some pupils

It would appear the Goalkeeper shared some top advice on the day, as the school’s U15 team won 5-4 in a penalty shootout (1-1 AET) against Ashcombe School in their PlayStation Schools’ Cup fixture.

Fraser took the school’s U12, U13 and U14 goalkeepers under his wing during his visit, teaching them some close range shot stopping and penalty saving skills. He spent some time answering the pupil’s questions in a specially arranged Q&A session and also shared some advice and kind words with the Girls’ U14 and U15 teams, who are both enjoying ongoing success in the PlayStation competitions.

Photo op with the U12, U13 and U14 Goalkeepers for Kings'

Chris Marwood, Head of Football at Kings’ School, commented ‘Today for someone like Fraser Forster to come down and meet the kids and be open to doing so many activities at an event like this was first class. It would be great to see more things like this spoken about and how footballers are down-to-earth people like any one of us. You couldn’t want a better role model to motivate kids to not only get into sport but continue working hard and pursuing their dreams.’

The ESFA are, as always, thrilled to be working in partnership with PlayStation and thoroughly enjoy seeing the positive results that these Tie of the Round events create. We would like to thank both Fraser for giving up his time and PlayStation for enabling such events to be possible.

One of Kings' girls' teams in a fab photo opportunity with Fraser Forster

The next Tie of the Round event is scheduled for the week commencing 15 December.