Story added: 6th December 2023

Josh Sargent visits RAF Mildenhall

On Friday 1^st December, Norwich City striker and United States Men’s National Team player Josh Sargent stopped by at RAF Mildenhall, a US Air Force base near Bury St Edmunds. The City player visited the youth sports engagement programme at the RAF base, nicknamed the ‘Mildenhall Mad Dawgs’, taking time to present the schemes ‘star performers’ with special trophies for their achievements.

Sargent arrived in Mildenhall at 3pm and was greeted with a rigorous safety precautions check – a necessity of any military base!

Once the Canaries star had had his pockets emptied and passport checked, he headed into the on-site sports hall to visit the ‘Mad Dawgs’ sports programme and surprise the participants. The programme is set up to help facilitate the children of military staff, with both full time and outside of school hours options available. The scheme keeps the young people engaged and active whilst their parents or guardians are working on the airfield, with some of the children living full-time on-base with their families.

Sargent’s surprise appearance caused immense excitement amongst the participants, who waited patiently to get a photo or an autograph with the Canaries superstar. The Missouri-born soccer player’s appearance at Mildenhall also meant that the largely American population at the base all wanted to meet him, so Sargent spent the next hour of his visit shaking hands and taking pictures with an array of staff members and military personnel across several different departments.

Before bidding his farewell to the ‘Mad Dawgs’, Sargent was given the honours of presenting the programmes standout participants with ‘star performer’ awards for their exceptional work. The Canaries very own ‘star’ then took a group photo with the awestruck youngsters before heading outside to witness the beginning of Mildenhall’s festive celebrations.

At 4pm, the big Christmas light switch on began … which malfunctioned, much to Sargent’s amusement! Aside from the early blip, the festivities were a success, with the Norwich player taking time to greet more military families and stop to talk with Mildenhall residents from his home country.

The Canaries striker concluded his visit to Mildenhall at the on-site convenience store, making sure he loaded up on American snacks and candy before heading back across the border to Norfolk.