UEFA and The Football Association have launched a schools ticket initiative ahead of the European Under-17s Championship in May.
England will host the UEFA European Under-17 Championship for the first time this summer and UEFA tournament ambassador Nathaniel Chalobah visited Outwoods Primary School in Burton-upon-Trent on Wednesday.
The event was held to launch the ticketing campaign aimed at attracting local school children to the matches and mark 100 days to go before the competition begins.
The tournament will be played between Friday 4 May and Sunday 20 May, across 10 match days at six venues: Walsall, Rotherham United, Chesterfield, Burton Albion, St. George’s Park and Loughborough University.
School friendly early kick-off times at 1pm will be played at each stadium to give children a unique opportunity to watch the stars of the future on their doorstep.
Tickets for children are only £2 and accompanying teachers/adults go for free.
Watford star Chalobah, who made 97 youth appearances for England and won the U17s European Championship in 2010 said: "It’s great for England to host a European Championship on home soil.
“There are lots of opportunities for schools to get involved and as we saw today, there’s a real enthusiasm for football among young people.
“Throughout my youth career, I always enjoyed competing in these tournaments and the 2010 win is a real career highlight to date.
“It’s an honour to be named as a tournament ambassador and I’m really looking forward to the big kick-off in May.”
Wayne Rooney, Eden Hazard, Paul Pogba and Cristiano Ronaldo are some of the famous names to have appeared at this level in the past, with the competition acting as the perfect platform for young players to showcase their talents.
England who won the European Under-17 title in 2010 and 2014, and also finished runners-up to Spain in 2017, have qualified automatically for the tournament as hosts.
After the unprecedented success of England’s development teams in 2017 and interest in youth football at an all time high, the 16 nation tournament will showcase Europe’s leading young talent.
Chesterfield will host the opening game and Rotherham United will stage the final, with the tournament final draw taking place at St. George’s Park on 5 April.
See the stars of tomorrow in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, 4-20 May 2018.
Visit www.TheFA.com/U17Euro for tickets and further information.