Sussex schoolboys selected for England squad

Two Sussex footballers have been selected for the England U18s Schoolboy squad.
Brad SantosBrad Santos
Brad Santos

The ESFA concluded their search for the best schools’ footballers that England has to offer on Sunday 1st December, with the final England U18 Schoolboys’ trial taking place at Rowley Park, Stafford.

And Max Blencowe and Brad Santos, who both play for Lancing, have been selected.

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The boys have progressed through a rigorous trial process from October until December to be finally selected to represent their country.

The schoolboys were first nominated by their county sides to attend regional trials that led to the construction of four regional squads, the North, Midlands, South East and South West. These squads then went head to head in step two of the trials process and formed the North and South Squad that traveled to Rowley Park yesterday for the final step of the trials process.

Making it to the final stage of the trials is a huge personal achievement for all the boys who attended and something they should all be very proud of.

Please find the ESFA England Schoolboys squad below:

The U18 England Schoolboys’ squad will start with some friendly fixtures, starting against the RAF on the 12th January 2020 followed by a game against Australia Schoolboys’ on the 25th January. They will then play two further friendly games against two different UCFB (University Campus of Football Business) squads before heading away on preparatory training before their competitive fixtures in the Centenary Shield against Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in April 2020.

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Since 1904 English Schools’ Football Association has been the governing body for schools’ football across England and has run International squads since 1907. The Association boasts crowds of 95,000 spectators at Wembley on multiple occasions at the height of the U15 international representative boys’ team. The ESFA are proud of their remit as an educational organisation, to be able to reward individuals, particularly at U18 level, who choose to remain in mainstream education as opposed to opting to join the academy system. There are deeply rooted values in education for ESFA and this is a way to celebrate players who have chosen to build a secure foundation for themselves with qualifications, wherever their football careers may take them.

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