Vertu Teams With Birmingham City Foundation For Primary Schools Cup
Vertu will throw its support behind youth football in England’s second city after joining forces with the Birmingham City Foundation to support the new Vertu Primary Schools Cup.
The Vertu Primary Schools Cup will get underway in February and is open to teams playing at U11 level, with 64 teams competing in a mixed competition and a further 32 doing battle in a competition exclusively for girls teams.
The opening round of the competition will see teams split into groups of 16, with mixed and girls teams in action on alternate weeks at the Wast Hills Training Centre, which is the training base for both the Birmingham City Women’s team and the Club’s various Academy sides.
Current Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham, former England internationals Jack Butland and Nathan Redmond, and current Welsh international Jordan James are amongst those to have come through Wast Hills.
Every child competing in the competition will be presented with a special Vertu-branded shirt to wear during their games, with each participant being awarded a medal to commemorate their participation.
The top team each week will be awarded a special trophy and will qualify alongside the runner-up to appear in a special Finals Day event to be held at the St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park stadium in May, where the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of each competition will take place.
Finals Day will form part of Blues Fest, the Club’s annual end-of-season celebrations, with the Vertu Primary Schools Cup fixtures being the pre-cursor to a charity game featuring former players and celebrities.
It means the competing schools will be given the opportunity to not only compete on the same pitch as their first team heroes, but to do so in front of a large crowd as part of one of the Club’s major community events.
Birmingham City CEO and vice-chair of the Foundation Jeremy Dale said: “As a Foundation, it is our duty to create unique footballing opportunities for the young people in our region.
“The Club is growing exponentially with more eyes watching us than ever before, and we want to create memories for children by inviting them to play at our world class facilities.
“Vertu’s support allows us to reach more than a thousand youngsters with this project, and we cannot wait to see some stars emerge at the games.”
Robert Forrester, Chief Executive of Vertu, said: “The community element is key to our partnership with Birmingham City FC and we’re delighted to be working so closely with the Club on the new Vertu Primary Schools Cup.
“This is a fantastic initiative that will allow us to engage with people from all across Birmingham and the West Midlands, and will offer children the opportunity to benefit from access to the Club’s first rate facilities as part of the competition.”