Hymers College girls football team through to national Premier League finals
Hymers College’s girls under 11 football team is through to the finals of a prestigious national competition – and will be seen by millions of people on TV.
Well done Ella, Eden, Layla, Willow, Ruby, Amy and Ava.
The team is through to the finals of the Premier League Primary Stars tournament for the first time.
The competition is part of the Premier League’s primary school education programme and is designed to promote physical activity and get more children involved in football.
The Hymers team won every game in the Hull round of the competition, hosted by the Tigers Trust, to progress to the Humberside round.
The girls again won every match and moved onto the regional finals, where they represented Hull City for the chance to play in the national finals.
In preparation for the regional finals, the Hymers team was able to train at the Tigers Trust arena. They then had to compete against schools representing Doncaster, Bradford, Scunthorpe, Grimsby, Huddersfield, Lincoln, York, Barnsley and Leeds for a place in the national finals.
The regional finals were filmed by Sky Sports for its popular Soccer Saturday programme, which is watched by millions of viewers each week.
Former Hull City captain Michael Dawson and ex-England international Sue Smith – both Sky Sports pundits – were also in attendance.
Following early group stage successes against Scunthorpe United, Grimsby Town and Lincoln City, Dawson stepped in to manage the Hymers team against a Leeds United side managed by Smith.
Despite a narrow defeat, Hymers still topped the group to set-up a semi-final against Bradford City.
Trailing 1-0 with just five minutes to go, Hymers rallied to eventually run out 3-1 winners and set up a final against Huddersfield Town.
Following a tense game, Hymers eventually won on penalties to come out on top. Along with Huddersfield, they now advance to the national finals at Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Molineux Stadium. The date for the finals has not been confirmed yet.
Highlights of the regional finals will be shown on Soccer Saturday between 12pm-3pm on Saturday, February 22.
Hymers has only had a girls football team for seven years and the furthest it had previously got in the Primary Stars competition was the Humberside round.
Richard O’Hara, Head of Junior School Football at Hymers, said: “To get to the national finals is an incredible achievement. It will be the first time Hull City have had a girls team representing them at the nationals.
“It doesn’t really matter what happens at the national finals now – it’s all about being there, and the girls having that amazing experience in a stadium like that.
“It’s also fantastic for girls football at the school that they’ll be on Soccer Saturday, showing that they play at such a high level. We’re all so proud of them.”
Former Hull City captain Michael Dawson and ex-England international Sue Smith with Hymers Under 11s girls football team and their teachers, Mr O’Hara, Mrs Fillingham and Mr Newton.