Young Wolves striker Niall Ennis joined the Together for England Roadshow in Staffordshire today, as the region gets ready to host the Under-17 European Championship Elite Round.
England Under-17s will face Turkey, Finland and Ukraine at the end of this month in a triple header as they look to qualify for May’s European Championship Finals in Azerbaijan.
Ennis, currently recovering from a fractured fibula, is not fit for this batch of fixtures but has an outside chance of being available should the Under-17s make it through to the tournament.
Westwood First School in Leek was the destination for the latest leg of the roadshow, as the Three Lions surprised over 150 schoolchildren with free tickets and other goodies, for the forthcoming game at Leek Town’s Harrison Park on Saturday 26 March.
Ennis lent his support by joining Birmingham City Ladies and England women’s U23 defender, Aoife Mannion, as youngsters were given an early Easter treat ahead of the games, as the England duo joined in a football session laid on by FA skills coaches, before the children posed their questions to the England stars in an assembly Q&A.
Woodcroft First School Head Teacher, Vicki Woollacott, said: “It was wonderful to see the smiles on all the faces of our children today. To have England stars of the future come and talk at our school was inspirational for them all, a great opportunity. They’re all looking forward to being able to get along to the match at Leek and cheer England on.”
The Together for England Roadshow is a nationwide drive aimed at inspiring the next generation of Three Lions fans. Through a series of monthly events that utilises England representatives from all levels, the initiative is designed to strengthen the national team’s relationship with local communities.
The roadshow has already visited eleven different regions throughout 2015 from Somerset to Teesside.
England teams will be in action on home soil over the coming months. The England U17s will start their triple header against Turkey at Chesterfield on 24 March (7pm kick off), before facing Finland in Leek (3pm kick off) and Ukraine (4pm kick off).
Roy Hodgson’s seniors play host to the Netherlands for a Breast Cancer Care international at Wembley Stadium, Connected by EE, on Tuesday 27 April (8pm kick-off), while Keith Downing will take permanent charge of England U20s for the first time, as they host Canada U20s at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster on Sunday 27 March (4pm kick-off).
Meanwhile, England Women will be back in home action next month on Friday 8 April when the Lionesses take on Belgium at Rotherham United’s New York Stadium. For tickets to all matches, click here.
14th March 2016
Young striker shows support ahead of forthcoming internationals
