Max Whitehurst -England Mascot

On the 22nd May Max Whitehurst, a year 5 pupil, had the opportunity to be a player escort through the FA, and their sponsors Lidl, for the England vs Turkey game held at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. Max had never seen a live England game and was understandably excited to be part of the event. The children had the chance to watch the England players warm up prior to kick off, which they all really enjoyed. A highlight was Roy Hodson waving at them when noticed them watching.  The children had to participate in several rehearsals to ensure that they all knew what their role was when the time came.

The children were split into two groups, those who would be England’s mascots and those who would be Turkey’s mascots. Max was pleased to be given the England kit. There was a lot of excitement over who the children would be paired with, all of them wanting to be with the man of the moment James Vardy. As the players came into the tunnel the children were paired up, Max was paired up with Eric Dier, which he was incredibly happy about. As the players prepared to go onto the pitch there was a lot of excitement and nerves from the children, Eric was kind enough to check if Max was ok and was very friendly.  After the National Anthem the children left the pitch and returned to their family in the stands to watch the game. The FA commented on how well behaved and easy to work with the children were. Max thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the game.