Extra excitement for cup of dreams

There was certainly an extra buzz created at the AFC Wimbledon Foundation Kids Cup tournament on Tuesday 14 January .

That’s because they were joined by six of our Men’s First Team players – leading to high demand from aspiring footballers for selfies, and group pics, requests to sign programmes, boots and even mobile phone cases!

Matty Stevens, Myles Hippolyte, Jon-Joe O’Toole, Callum Maycock, Ryan McLean, and Omar Bugiel all met children at the finals day of our competition, hosted at our training ground.

The eight schools that took part were as follows: Finton House, Cleves, Hillbrook, Cheam Fields, Cheam Park Farm, Warren Mead, St Anselm's, Brookfield.

Wandsworth-based Finton House emerged victorious after defeating Cleves in a closely fought final and they will now go through to a regional round with a chance to reach the Utilita EFL Trust Kids Cup Final at Wembley.

Jonny Ashby, PE teacher at Finton House, said: “A lot of our boys want to be professional footballers, so meeting the players was inspirational. They loved it and that interaction meant a lot. A big thanks to the Foundation’s Andy May for organising this event so well - it has been superb. It was a fantastic experience for us to come down to the training ground and meet the players.

“I live in Tooting and we’re based in Wandsworth, so we’d love to all come down to a game as a group! It was great for Wimbledon when the Club moved back here, the way the stadium looks is so impressive – it has completely revamped the area.”

On this occasion, Cleves School, previous Wembley winners twice before, just missed out on glory, but it was still a day to remember.

Craig Smith, Sports Mentor at Cleves School, said: “This is the highlight of the year for us as we’ve been to Wembley twice! The boys in year five always ask ‘when is the Wimbledon tournament?’

“It was a very nice touch for the Club to send players to the event – the boys will probably remember that more than the football! They’ve all had their photos taken and had programmes signed. I still speak to some of the kids who won at Wembley nine years ago and they say it was their fondest moment of primary school. It’s a special competition for us all here.”

There was also a Q&A with our players on the receiving end of one or two testing questions!

But our players passed with flying colours and they enjoyed interacting with young footballers on the day.

Matty Stevens said: “I can remember going to soccer schools just for the love of football as a boy and I used to play for a team called Hawley Raiders.

"I watched West Ham play as a kid, and I recall getting the autographs of Matthew Etherington and Jack Collison after a game. When I was at Peterborough they ended up as my coaches. That was a bit strange the way it worked out, but the fact I remembered that shows how much it meant at a young age. It's nice to see the next generation taking an interest in Wimbledon.”

Omar Bugiel added: “This is massive for us. It may not seem a lot, but it makes the day for young footballers. I love meeting fans after games or at events like this. One of the boys here was at Sutton when I was there and he was a mascot. That was two years ago, but he mentioned it today, so it shows how much it means to young supporters. It’s nice for us to put a smile on their faces."

Andy May, Education & Sport Manager at AFC Wimbledon Foundation, said: “It was very positive to have six players along to meet the children here today. They enjoyed getting their photos with our players, along with autographs on progammes and mobile phone cases. Parents thanked us for organising six players to meet the kids.

“Cleves School are here today and two of their previous teams were fortunate to reach Wembley and win there on play-off finals days, so there’s a lot of prestige attached to it. All the winning schools from League Two clubs in the south will meet in a finals day soon with the chance to reach Wembley.

“This competition shows the reach that the Club has. We talk about our core boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth, but we’ve got also schools here from Sutton, Banstead and Elmbridge.”

It all added up to a day to remember at the training ground - thanks to all the 72 children, teachers, and parents who attended, and good luck to Finton House in their bid to reach Wembley!