From 15-17 May, thirty school finalists will be given the full match day experience, making their way to the home or away dressing room before walking out onto the hallowed turf at Pride Park, says the ESFA.
Teams have competed throughout the season through a number of knock-out rounds across the 18 PlayStation Schools’ Cup competitions and the finalists will now be looking forward to a first rate footballing experience at Pride Park, to determine who will become National Champions 2017.
With free entry for all spectators, the ESFA PlayStation Schools’ Cup Festival provides a memorable occasion for school friends, family members, general spectators and football fans alike, with over 5,000 spectators attending last year’s finals. As well as cheering on the Finalists, a series of spectator competitions and activities as well as surprise special guest appearances will contribute to the carnival atmosphere. Last year’s special guests included England and Man City Ladies’ Captain, Steph Houghton as well as Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi – this year a host of new PS Schools’ Cup Ambassadors are lined up to inspire players and spectators alike.
Further to this and following the success of last year’s newest addition, all 15 National Finals will be broadcast live, in HD and for free via the PlayStation Schools’ Cup website. Last year’s finals were viewed over 60,000 times and all games are given the full professional live TV treatment, with multiple camera angles, instant replays and a commentary team including former Liverpool and England defender, John Scales.
The increasing popularity of live streaming Schools’ Football finals was recently picked up by the National Press and the PlayStation Schools’ Cup Finals will be a welcome addition to the catalogue of National Finals streamed by the ESFA this season.
For those who can’t catch the action live, post-event highlights will be added to the PlayStation Schools’ Cup YouTube Channel, as well as a ‘Goals of the Festival’ compilation. The links to each day of the festival can be found below
