Fleet’s Elvetham Heath Primary School will represent Aldershot Town in the South Final of the National League Trust Under 11 Girls Cup later this month after a thrilling Regional Final at Sutton United’s Gander Green Lane.
The Shots will now compete against Dagenham & Redbridge, Maidenhead United, Oxford City, St Albans City and Woking on Tuesday 24 April at Boreham Wood’s Meadow Park, with the South winners playing their North counterparts at Wembley Stadium before the National League Play-Off Final on Saturday 12 May.
Following draws against Sutton United and Bognor Regis Town, and victory against Maidstone United – plus a mini-derby defeat against Woking – The Shots snuck back into the top two by a single goal, after beating Eastleigh 4-0 in their final round robin match to give them a goal difference of +5 to hosts Sutton’s +4.
Woking retained a 100% record, including a 1-0 victory against The Shots in the Final, but both teams ultimately progressed.
Elvetham Heath had last month won the right to represent Aldershot Town in a tournament at Alderwood Senior School, by winning five and drawing one of their six matches, scoring 25 goals in the process.
The National League Trust is a charity that offers grant aid to National League clubs to support and develop their community projects, with over £5million distributed so far. This money comes from the Premier League and the Professional Footballers Association, who have committed to support the Trust until 2019. They each contribute to an annual donation of £1.2m. 59 National League clubs are currently running projects and receiving funding from the Trust.
The Shots Foundation, launched in July 2017, aims to use the power of sport and the brand of Aldershot Town FC to offer a range of health-related activities to charities, community groups and schools. It has already launched football projects for members of Rushmoor’s Nepalese community, local homeless people, and a Sunday morning coaching session for girls aged 5-11 at St Joseph’s Primary School. For further information on the Shots Foundation, email mark.simmons@shotsfoundation.org.
