Story added: 5th March 2026

Hectic half-term for Foundation’s Football Pathway

More than 1,000 young players enjoyed a busy and rewarding February half-term with the Community Sports Foundation’s Football Development Programme.

The Foundation’s Development Programme supports young players, ranging from age groups U5-U16, in reaching their full potential through football.

The boys’ pathway saw Development Centre and Advanced Development Centre squads take on strong opposition including Chelsea, Watford, Luton Town and Colchester United. 

Meanwhile the girls’ programme competed in six major fixture events such as the Wolves Cup, Bedford Festival and England Futsal Regional Qualifiers. They faced 20 teams from across the country, including Chelsea, Wolves, Leicester City and Ipswich Town, with four Foundation teams reaching finals across competitions. 

There were several development days throughout the week, with internal training sessions and fixtures. Most notably, our U12-U16 goalkeepers enjoyed an evening at the Club’s Avant Training Centre. 

“It was a really rewarding and successful week,” said the Foundation’s Head of Football, Adam Drury.  

“Playing different teams from across the country helps with developing our players and providing them with a range of experiences. We’re proud of how they conducted themselves over the week and sure it was a greatly beneficial fixture programme for everyone involved.  

“Our staff were also brilliant in how they represented the Foundation and carried our values. We’ve received a lot of positive feedback on their professionalism and it was great to see how engaged the players were. 

“Our players have been working hard over the course of the season and their development has been excellent. We look forward to building on that over the coming months.”