England's World Cup heroes return
|
|
The World Cup is over. After a month of exhilarating football, it's safe to say the 2018 World Cup will go down as one of the most memorable tournaments ever.
Here in England, it'll be remembered as the World Cup where Foundation Ambassador, Gareth Southgate, surpassed all expectations and led his young England squad to their best World Cup finish since 1990.
Southgate and his squad had the country glued to their screens as they navigated their way through the group stage and two knockout rounds before eventually falling to Croatia in the semi-final.
Belief is restored, the nation is inspired and children playing grassroots football up and down the country have a new set of heroes to look up to.
And with the new generation of community facilities we are populating towns across the country using our Funders’ investment – some examples below – the future is looking pretty rosy.
|
|
|
Last week, Bolton Wanderers FC all-time Premier League leading goalscorer, Kevin Davies cut the ribbon on a brand new third generation (3G) artificial grass pitch for Ladybridge High School in Bolton.
We caught up with Kevin after the ceremony to find out his thoughts on his time at Bolton, England's World Cup performance and his work in the community. You can watch the interview here.
He also took on our new quick fire feature where, in under 60 seconds, he gave us the answers to some all-important questions such as Messi or Ronaldo, his toughest opponent and the best player he's played with. You can find out how Kevin answered via our Instagram 'IGTV' channel. Just search 'footballfoundation' on Instagram and head to our profile page.
|
|
|
Check out our selection of those 'right place, right time' shots captured by photographers at different Football Foundation events over the years.
|
|
|
1. Colebrook Royals FC
First up, this image from March 2012 in Chigwell. The photographer captured perfectly the moment when a ball heading for a group of young players from Colebrook Royals FC was nodded away by a member of the team. Top defending!
|
|
|
2. Funding deal announcement 2008
As the Football Foundation came together with the Premier League, The FA and Government to announce a new £135m funding deal, the photographer timed his shot perfectly to capture this young goalkeeper flying through the air to spell out the investment amount.
|
|
|
3. Broadgreen International School
It's 2016. The Kolo and Yaya Toure chant (or adaptations of) are still being sung at sports venues all over the country. The now-former Liverpool FC player turns up at Broadgreen International School to officially open their new artificial grass pitch and our photographer captures the moment Kolo joins students in a reenactment of the famous song!
|
|
|
5. Prudhoe Community High School
We visited Prudhoe Community High School back in 2003 to unveil their new artificial grass pitch, small-sided pitches and changing rooms.
Once there, our photographer was able to capture the moment this defender won the ball with a perfectly timed sliding tackle!
|
|
|
Thanks to a £335,283 grant from the Premier League & FA Facilities Fund, Laurence Jackson School constructed a new floodlit artificial grass pitch to replace an existing sand-based surface. The new pitch is now used all-year-round by the school’s 1,200 pupils and, through a partnership with Guisborough Town FC, has now become a hub for football participation in the area. The school have formed a strong partnership with Middlesbrough FC and welcomed Boro defender, Ben Gibson to cut the ribbon on the site back in November 2016.
|
|
We are Hiring! We are looking for three individuals to join our team.
Administration Support Officer - Football Foundation
Insight Support Officer – Football Foundation
Performance & Insight Analyst – Football Foundation
Here is a selection of other roles being advertised within the industry:
Inclusion Football Development Officer – Suffolk Football Association
Lead Youth Team Coach – FC Halifax Town
Football in the Community Officer – Aston Villa FC
Reporting Officers – Kick it Out
|
|
|
Check out what's been happening across the Football Foundation social media channels this month via our 'Social Wall' below. Click the relevant image to find out more.
|
|
In recognition of England's best World Cup performance since 1990, Transport for London (TFL) have temporarily rebranded Southgate station in honour of the England manager.
The North London based station displayed the England Manager and Football Foundation Ambassador's name on its signs until the end Tuesday.
Image: TFL
|
|
|
The 2018 World Cup will be remembered for a number of different reasons, none less than some of the amazing goals we've witnessed over the course of the tournament.
FIFA has now officially released their shortlist for the goal of the tournament, which is sure to cause some heated office debates until the winner is announced later in the month (It's got to be Lingard's, right?)
See the shortlist here.
Image: Fifa.com
|
|
|
Keeping to the World Cup theme, the internet has won again after Neymar's slightly dramatic roll in Brazil's game against Serbia sent social media into overdrive and gave birth to the self-entitled, #NeymarChallenge.
The Paris St Germain player's antics have since been turned into numerous memes and videos and even led to one club in Mexico creating a half-time challenge for fans.
|
|
|
|
These images are all licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
|
|
|
|
