Legends of Football Competition
The Competition is now closed, thank you to all those that entered. Details of the winners will be shared in March.
This Legends of Football competition invites pupils in Years 3-6 (KS2 only) to participate in a competition to win the wonderful prize of an hour’s training session followed by a Q&A with England Coach, Gareth Southgate, at a Prestigious London Stadium.
The pupils will be asked seven questions as well as completing a ‘tie-breaker’ question which will involve the children writing a paragraph of no more than 100 words. The event will be a wonderful experience for pupils and parents, and you do not have to be football skilled to enjoy the occasion.
The Elms Sport In Schools takes the marking of the ‘tie-breaker’ very seriously and will gauge the results according to the judges experience on the abilities of Years 3-6 under consideration.
The experience and suitability of the judges is covered by their CV’s below and encompasses education, psychology and sport.
THE COMPETITION JUDGES
SUE WILCOX
Sue Wilcox is a retired Headteacher having taught in Primary schools in 2 authorities for 25 years. Her interest in sport began with her own children’s passion and participation in a variety of sports leading to her setting up a Girls 5 A Side football league enabling 30 Teams to play regularly and to the development of Enfield Ladies FC.
On achieving a 1st Class Honours Degree in Mathematics and Computing with QTS, Teaching provided the opportunity as PE Coordinator to inspire and encourage physical activity to large numbers of children and promote high quality inclusive teaching for all pupils regardless of their ability. As a Headteacher, she was able to introduce a number of initiatives - Breakfast Clubs, Lunchtime and Afterschool activities, Holiday Clubs, Daily Mile and inter-school competitions in her schools providing regular physical activity for children of all abilities.
Her passion and belief in sport and physical activity being able to teach children the important life skills of resilience, tolerance, decision-making, empathy and coping with stress and emotions was confirmed as children returned to school after the recent pandemic. Her introduction of free activity clubs, using Government Sport In Schools Funding, was welcomed and valued by the children and their families and quickly enabled young children to start developing, once again, their life long skills for a healthy body and mind.
JUDY BLENDIS
Dr Judy Blendis is a retired Chartered Psychologist who was an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society.
She was a consultant to many large organisations including an Inner London Education Authority.
Her work involved applying methods of behavioural science, working with many corporate clients including the BBC, Reuters, the NHS, The Post Office, Harvey Nicholls, Sothebys, Intercontinental Hotels and many smaller organisations.
Before embarking on this career, Judy taught English in a secondary school in Tottenham. She enjoys sport especially tennis and her family are keen football fans. She has previous experience in competitions, having been involved in many consumer contests and having initiated and run a nationwide schools competition for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
DAVID DEIN MBE
David Dein MBE is currently International Ambassador for the FA and Ambassador for the Premier League. He was the former Vice Chairman of both Arsenal Football Club and the Football Association. He was also President of the G-14 group of European football clubs and International Ambassador of England’s bid to host the World Cup in 2018.
At Arsenal, David was responsible for football matters, taking an active role in the transfer of players and contract negotiations where he was able to use his extensive network of football contacts. Dein was behind the appointment of the then little known Arsène Wenger to the manager’s job in 1996. During his 24 years at Arsenal, the club won 18 trophies including the ‘Invincible’ season of 2003/2004. The Club now has the finest training facilities and the most magnificent stadium – The Emirates.
Dein was the driving force behind the creation of the FA Premier League in 1992 which is now the most successful league competition in the world. He has been at the forefront of many important changes in football, including the introduction of Goal Line Technology and VAR. He was an early proponent of Women’s football and became President of the Arsenal Women’s Team which became one of the most successful in the league.
Since 2014, he has delivered motivational and inspirational talks in over 500 state schools for the Speakers for Schools programme. In addition, he has given talks in all of the 117 prisons in England and Wales and in 2018 launched the Twinning Project which twins professional football clubs with their local prison, providing training and coaching programmes to help offenders gain employment on release. The objective is to reduce offending and save lives.
In 2019, David Dein was awarded an MBE for his services to football and charity.
David Dein has just published his autobiography suitable for adults which retails at £22.00 but the parents of those entering the competition can purchase for £17.00 including postage and packaging.
To purchase a copy, please visit www.primrosehillbooks.com/product/david-dein and add the code ELMS-DEIN during checkout.
Please note, The Elms Sport In Schools does not receive any commission on sales.
COMPETITION INFORMATION
- The 2022 Legends of Football – Winner is Gareth Southgate, England’s Football Manager.
- The Elms Sport in Schools is the headline sponsor for this event.
- As a result, The Elms Sport in Schools is being given the opportunity to choose 20 children between Year 3 to Year 6 from all the Schools that we support.
- The 20 children will be selected according to their responses to the 7 questions as part of the quiz/competition. In addition to which, there is a special tie-break assessment on the value of sport.
- The 20 winners of the competition will meet Gareth Southgate at a premier league football ground in London for a 2 hour training course, and they will each receive signed memorabilia and a specially designed kit.
- The session will take place Spring 2023. Date TBC.
- You do not have to be good at football to enjoy this event, and everyone is invited to apply.
- You need to submit your answers to the quiz online.
- There will be 3 participating judges to adjudicate the final selection of the 20 qualifying children, and these
are all independent expert professionals in their field:-
- Sue Wilcox
- Judy Blendis
- David Dein MBE
- Date for entry into the competition is between Tuesday 3rd January 2023 & Friday 17th February 2023.
- To register for the competition we will require the child’s name, school, year group and a contacts email address.
- If successful, you will be contacted in March 2023.
- Winners will need to be accompanied by a parent and a representative from the school.