Held on Monday 3^rd October, the squad used the on-campus football pitch and gym facilities while preparing for upcoming UEFA European Women’s Under-19 Championship qualifying games.

Students studying on the BA Football Coaching degree were able to observe the session as an opportunity to build on their current Advanced Football Coaching module.

David Pears, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science, spoke about the advantages to students: “This was a fantastic opportunity to observe high quality, professional coaches working with an international age group squad in preparation for a series of two away matches in qualifying for the 2023 UEFA European Women’s Under-19 Championship.

“The session content and delivery was used as a focus to prompt a great deal of discussion between the students and University staff. There is an open invitation for the squad to return and we hope that this is the start of a great relationship between the University and England squads.”

The team got in touch with the University’s sports department with an enquiry about using the state-of-the-art facilities and spent the morning on the Bedford campus preparing for their upcoming fixtures, before flying from nearby Luton Airport later that day to play their first match against Slovenia – which they comfortably won 5-0.

Stephen Pitt, Head of Sport, added: “It was a great privilege hosting the under 19’s England football squad on the Bedford campus. The ability for our students to interact and observe the squads training routine before they were due to fly off to two international fixtures was a real insight for our football studies students. We hope to invite the team back again soon and build on this exciting relationship.”