Congratulations to our football team who have won Junior Team of the Year at the Hampshire and IOW Sports Awards held at St Mary’s Stadium last week. Team Manager Neil Benson and nine of his elite squad players attended the event which recognises commitment, performance and excellence across all sports.

The award comes on the back of a number of significant achievements for the squad this season including winning the national Colleges title played at the Ricoh Arena and two Hampshire Cup Final wins at both club and college level.

Commenting on the Hampshire and Isle of Wight award Manager, Neil Benson said: “I was very proud of the team for winning this following what has been a superb season. Quite rightly the boys should take the major glory but I would like to acknowledge that there are many people at Sparsholt who have made a valuable contribution to this achievement.”

Sparsholt Football Academy has a proven record in producing elite players. A number of the College’s students have had trial opportunities with professional clubs which has led to a scholarship at Southampton Football Club and subsequent professional contract at Aston Villa for Isaac Nehemie. More recently, second year Charlie Gunson and Mark Childs were selected for the England Schools Under 18s squad.

Sparsholt have ongoing trials for the Football Academy and are currently selecting players for 2015/16 courses. Players of all levels are catered for from the elite squad, with direct links to Southampton Football Club, through to keen footballers who are playing at community level. A Level 3 or Level 2 Diploma is built around the football programme for students to attain a nationally recognised sporting qualification which can lead to further study or employment.

Recent Football Open Days have attracted vast numbers of players, some from as far as Australia, Portugal, Holland, Spain and nationally within the UK.

Find out more about the Sparsholt Football Academy