The moment young footballers from the Harborough district chatted with their England heroes

Talented young footballers from Harborough were ecstatic to chat to their England heroes like skipper Harry Kane in a showstopping Zoom call on Tuesday evening (October 6).

The six boys from high-flying Glen Villa Juniors FC, based at Great Glen, spoke to 12 of the England soccer squad in the thrilling shared virtual get-together.

The cockahoop lads won the dream prize of a lifetime for budding stars of the future because they have been so well behaved on and off the pitch over the last season.

Jonny Hales, the club chairman and a coach with their Under-14s squad, said: “It was an unforgettable experience – and all the boys are still talking about it.

“We got an email from the Football Association telling us that we’d been selected for this amazing privilege because we were top of the league when it came to Respect scores.”

The dad-of-three added: “We mark the opposition and they score us and our fans after every match for our respect.

“We have always told our players to properly respect all of the officials as well as the team that we are playing.

“We tell our boys to respect and accept the officials’ decisions even if we don’t agree with them – and now it’s paid off big time!”

Their big chance came as impressive England geared up to beat Wales 3-0 in a friendly behind closed doors at Wembley on Thursday night (October 8).

Jonny said three boys each from their Under-10s and Under-12s were selected as virtual player escorts as England’s players arrived at St George’s Park national football centre at Burton.

“The lucky lads were my son Redd, who’s 10, Noah, Nish, Owen, Will and Jacob.

“They were knocked out to be able to have a few words with big stars like Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold,” said Jonny, who lives in Great Glen and celebrated turning 50 on Friday (October 9).

“Their faces just lit up, they were just so excited to all take part in the Zoom call of a lifetime together.

“The players all answered questions that our boys had put to them beforehand.

“It was a fantastic thing to do.

“And the lads will all get a personalised message from the England players and will receive a full England kit in the post.

“They will also be invited to go down to Wembley to be player escorts on to the pitch for real in the future once we can all meet up again.

“I’m sure they’ll all be jumping for joy when they get the great news.”

Jonny said Glen Villa Juniors FC, who run four boys’ teams, are always looking for new players.

So if you would like to get involved you can check out the thriving football club on their website at: www.glenvillajuniorsfc.com“Come along, have a look at us and join in – I’m sure you’ll love it,” said Jonny, who helps to run a Leicester-based video games company.