Cymru U21 manager Matty Jones made a special visit to Deighton Primary School in Tredegar on Wednesday morning, delighting pupils from Years 5 and 6.
The visit came as Jones and his squad prepare to kick off their UEFA EURO qualifying campaign. Just shy of 80 pupils from the school will be attending Cymru’s opening fixture against Denmark at Rodney Parade, and the visit offered them a unique opportunity to get inspired ahead of the big match.
During the session, the children took part in a Q&A with Jones, learning about his experiences as a professional footballer and what it means to represent Cymru on the international stage.
They also enjoyed one-on-one conversations with the former Leeds United and Leicester City midfielder, before having signing cards signed as a memento of the day.
Tickets for the UEFA EURO U21 qualifier are still available at faw.cymru/tickets, and the match will be broadcast live on Sgorio.
Reflecting on the visit, Jones said: “I was overjoyed to visit Deighton Primary School this morning, to be able to not only connect with the community and encourage them to come and support our future generation of Welsh players next Monday vs. Denmark, but to highlight the importance of enjoyment, play, and a no-fear mentality at these age groups to be able to dream and fufill dreams.
“I loved the innocence and enthusiasm of the young children, as you can see they are hanging on to every word, and that’s really important for us to inspire the future generations… hopefully we have impacted boys and girls today who will one day play for our Men’s and Women’s International teams.
“Engaging with schools is vital for us to promote our game at all levels and to allow them to fall in love with sport. Now the pressure is on us to perform on Monday night with creativity and give those young children something to cheer.
“To be able to tell stories today and listen to theirs was really powerful. We were able to share thoughts and experiences around the school’s values of resilience and respect, and it was a credit to the school and its teachers that the children’s behaviour and the atmosphere they’ve created there is fantastic.”
