Young footballers get to chat to Chelsea star and England Lioness

Izzy Foot and Minnie Sheppard from Bexhill College SUS-200722-131029001

Bexhill College Football Academy players, Izzy Foot and Minnie Sheppard, recently participated in a video call with Chelsea FC player and England Lioness, Hannah Blundell.

The opportunity came through the Academy’s association with the Chelsea Football Club Foundation.

Twelve girls, from several Foundation areas, were invited to quiz Blundell on her football journey so far.

Blundell talked about how she was part of a similar Academy set-up to that of Bexhill College and how the link with the Foundation enabled her to attend trials, before progressing through to the full Chelsea Academy set-up.

Minnie Sheppard, who like Blundell also used to play for Polegate Grasshoppers, said: “It is reassuring to know that an established professional player was in exactly the same position as we currently are, within our College academy. It has motivated us to remain focused and to work as hard as we can in the hope that we may be able to make the same transition into the senior game like Hannah.”

Izzy Foot said: “Hannah has suffered setbacks within her career and it was nice to hear that she was still able to recover and have a successful football career. This has inspired us to keep working hard and try to achieve the best we can within Bexhill College’s Football Academy.”

Academy Director, Sean Noble, commented “We would like to thank the Chelsea Football Club Foundation for providing the students with this opportunity to interact with Hannah in such a capacity. It is an experience that the two young players have taken a lot from and one which I am sure they will not forget.”

The Bexhill College Football Academy is also in partnership with Eastbourne Borough FC, for more information about the opportunities it provides, please visit:www.bexhillcollege.ac.uk/docs2/about/sports_academy.shtml.