Prince William has wished the England men’s football team good luck as they prepare to jet off to Germany for Euro 2024.
The Prince of Wales, who is the president of the FA, visited St George’s Park, England’s national football centre in Burton-upon-Trent earlier today. In a rallying speech to the players, the prince said: “I was on the school run this morning with the children and I said ‘What shall I say to the England team today?’
“The best bit of advice I got [for] you was to eat twice the amount you normally would eat. So I then had visions of all of you running around with massive great tummies and loads of stitches on the pitch so I think maybe take my youngest’s advice with a pinch of salt.”
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After giving his short speech, he spent time with the whole team, including Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa. He presented both players with their Euro 2024 shirts, as well as the other 24 members in the Three Lions squad.
Schools from across the Midlands were invited to the training ground to celebrate the competition. Children from the schools are playing against each other in a festival in football, with England boss Gareth Southgate dropping in to watch the matches and meet some of those who take part.
William is known to be a football fan and often appears at Aston Villa games with his sons. The prince revealed his love Villa to the BBC in 2015: “A long time ago at school I got into football big time. I was looking around for clubs. All my friends at school were either Man United fans or Chelsea fans and I didn’t want to follow the run-of-the-mill teams. I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments.
“Aston Villa’s always had a great history. I have got friends of mine who support Aston Villa and one of the first FA Cup games I went to was Bolton v Aston Villa back in 2000. Sadly, Villa went on to lose to Chelsea.
“It was fantastic, I sat with all the fans with my red beanie on, and I was sat with all the Brummie fans and had a great time. It was the atmosphere, the camaraderie and I really felt that there was something I could connect with.”
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