Want your child to be player escort for England Vs Turkey? Manchester 22 May Find out more... NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

As Official Supermarket of the England Team, Lidl are very excited by the football-filled summer ahead of us.

To share in this excitement they've given us a money-can't buy prize for our lovely mumsnetters - to win the chance for your child (aged 7 to 11) to be a Player Escort at the England v Turkey game on Sunday 22nd May in Manchester. Included in the prize will be 4 tickets to watch the game, for a great day out for all the family.

As part of the partnership with The FA, Lidl also supports grassroots football to give more children the opportunity to lead an active healthy lifestyle. The FA Skills programme does just this, and together The FA and Lidl are offering exciting football sessions designed for 5-11 year old girls and boys of any ability, run by professional FA coaches.

For more information visit //www.lidl.co.uk/football

This competition is open to all MNers with a child is between the ages of 7 and 11 years old, who would want to take on this role.

To enter you need to do two things

1. post on this thread to say WHY your child would like to be a player escort for this match AND
   
   
2. add your details on this form so we can contact you should you be selected.
   
   Note: the match takes place on Sunday 22nd May in Manchester (City of Manchester Stadium) - kick off 5.15pm.
   
   Standard Insight T&Cs apply
   
   Competition closes at 9am Monday 16th May
   Winner will be contacted that day by email and text message
   If no response by 3pm Monday 16th May, a runner up will be picked.
   Please note transport isn't included so you'd need to make your own way to the game.
   Additional T&Cs here

[MTPurse]

This will probably sound really soppy and stupid but I got a lump in my throat at the thought of my ds getting a chance at this opportunity.

Ds is 10 and he walks, talks, sleeps and breathes football.If he is not outside kicking a ball he is playing fifa on his xbox, googling football facts or watching sky sports news.

He has been having such a rough time lately (I nearly wrote a thread about it to ask for advice) He has been bullied and excluded from playing the game that he loves, I won't go into too much detail but since march he has been through hell with a new football coach who took an instant dislike to him. The football club where he trained regularly (not premier league but not sunday league either) attended holiday club, had his birthday parties and was also ball boy on match days he will no longer attend due to the way he has been treat and I am absolutely devastated for him.

Not only has the coach affected his out of school activities but has now also took over the school football team and pe lessons once a week. Seeing my happy normally loving school child getting upset about attending school on pe days is awful for us both. The affect a grown adult's behaviour has had on my child is just awful.

We are moving house soon and he will also be moving schools so something like this would really boost his confidence, it wouldn't make his day, week month or year I think it would make his life!

[abhivirtara]

My 9 year old would love the opportunity as he loves to play and watch football but has been ousted by a group of players at school as they think he is not a good enough player. This would really boost his confidence and stop him feeling constantly rejected !

Thank you for your consideration

[laughalot]

My 11 year old would be over the moon if he got picked as not only is he a England supporter he is also a Man City fan. He has played since the age of 5 under his dad who manages the team, not always easy having your dad as a manger. He would just be thrilled to be given a chance 😀

[icapturethecastle]

My eight year old would love the opportunity to be a mascot. He is absolutely football obsessed and he says it would be the most amazing thing ever!

[eandh]

My daughter aged 9 plays football for our local town team (loves midfield and scored her first goal from half way line last week) however we have had huge problems at school with boys i hear 4,5 and 6 bullying her telling her it's for boys only and she can't play and go and find something girly to do (even though the school have a girls football team In year 5 that were runners up in a country wide competition)

A dad at school saw how upset she was coming out of school yesterday and when he found out why he took it upon himself to contact Arsenal ladies team who replied so quickly and offered to write to dd2 to let her know that girls can be just as good as boys and regain her confidence I the situation and co time with her aspiration to be a premier league player!

The school have been amazing ensuring that her and her friend (that also plays for the town team) are allowed to join In and actively arranging a lunch time mini tournament for summer term to include any child that wants to be involved regardless of their ability or sex! Even with what the boys have been saying, she's persevered and held her head high at school (the tears come when she sees me) but still she attends training, matches, tournaments with a positive attitude but with the utmost report for her fellow team mates and opponents, they all shakes hands they all congratulate each other and they all follow the rules set out for good conduct! To have the opportunity to meet the England team and watch a professional match would be out of this world for her

[eandh]

Boys in years 4,5 and 6 that should have said not aged 4,5 and 6 (she's in junior school not infants!!)

[velocitygir1]

My son would love this, he has had major surgery in Feb and had 3 other operations all within 8 months. He had his tonsils out 2 weeks ago and had 2 x ballon dilations of the oesophagus and Botox of the stomach muscle. He then had to have a heller myotomy and a dor fundoplication at Birmingham children's hospital, he will never be cured of his achalasia or dysphagia or crohns. We are trying to make the rest of this year a fun year...this prize would be a dream come true for my footie mad 9 year old lad and it would be awesome to see him have the pride of leading out his country.

[allthingsred]

Omg this would be a once in a lifetime chance for my 6 yo son. It's his b day & this would be the most amazing present in the world. as well as a fantastic chance for all of us to have a day together as a family which with work,school after school clubs we never seem to be able to do anymore.
A great prize☺☺

[Byrdie]

Oh wow - my eldest daughter (8) would love this. Especially as she's part Turkish and part English!! She hasn't let being the only girl who plays football with the boys at her afterschool football club put her off at all and gets stuck in. I'm really proud that she's getting excited about a sport as she was very behind her peers physically until about a year ago. She is still physically very small and it bothers her sometimes - but not when she's playing football! She asked for a proper football for her last birthday and has been to a few premier league matches with her dad. Add to that she loves being the centre of attention and on stage!! She would LOVE it!

[Byrdie]

I'm also going to shamelessly add that she's also part German (husband and I are a very mixed up couple!) and we love Lidl!!!!

[Donthate]

My dd is 8 and a football mad season ticket holder for Burnley FC. She has travelled home and away all season fitting football in around her ballet classes! After watching Burnley win promotion this season a ticket to watch England would be the cherry on the cake for her!

[helenwilson]

My daughter Jenna would absolutely love this opportunity. She's seven and has played football since she was in Reception. She's been the only girl in her football club for the last four years and is the only girl who was picked for her year three football team - I'm sure if she is able to control the thirty boisterous boys in her club then the England football team will not present a problem !!

Jenna is a sensible little soul, she's very kind and what she lacks in physical strength compared to the boys on the team, she more than makes up for in attitude, commitment and enthusiasm. She would love to walk out with the England team and would do so with pride. Thanks for the opportunity to put her forward, Helen

[BathshebaDarkstone]

DD would love to do it but we can't afford the train fare.

[HappyMum4]

I have one son, and an opportunity like this would change his little world, he has problems with co-ordination which makes him appear clumsy and not quite as nimble as some of the other boys in his year, he wants very much to be accepted by his peers and whilst he has joined the after school football club he refuses to join anything else for fear of being ridiculed, he does love football very much and one of my favourite moments is watching him and his grandad fill in his MatchAttax book together, he would be the proudest boy in the world (as would we be parents/grandparents) to see him go to Manchester to do this, give him something to talk about at school when all the other boys are bringing in their medals from weekend matches, and a way of feeling good about himself. Plus it would cheer his grandad up as his favourite team, Newcastle, has just been relegated!!

[Jenni2legs]

My 10yo son would be beyond thrilled to be chosen for this opportunity. He's football obsessed and if he's not outside kicking a ball around he's reading footy books or playing FIFA.
He has Aspergers and football has really brought him out of himself. I can't explain how amazing he would think this is!

[DontFeedTheDailyFail]

DS2 would love this opportunity. He's a middle child and has two high needs siblings. Eldest with Autism/ dyspraxia and youngest severe anxiety query ASD.

This morning I've been so proud of him. His little sister had a full on meltdown kicking and screaming on the way to school and he just picked up the bags, got her favourite rabbit toy and kept talking softly to her and chatting with me as though it's a perfectly normal thing whilst it took a TA and Teacher to carry her/ her bags into school.

He's our sporty boy and will happily kick a ball for hours. He's brilliantly tolerant of his siblings. Last Saturday we took a ball to Lyme Park and he saved his hard kicks and challenging tackles for me (and don't my ankles know it) with gentle passes and ball rolls to his siblings so they get to feel like they're a part of things too.

He's a massive city fan so gets to the City stadium a few times a year when budget allows, along with his dad and loves to get to matches (so do I for that matter but as I'm slightly less fanatical I usually pull childcare duties).

We spent the early years of DS's life living in Wales so to get to see England play when he's been a lone fan amongst his peers would be another lovely bonus.

We also have childcare for my youngest on the 22nd as my parents are nearby so if we are the lucky ones amongst the deserving many we could attend.

[sandrapanda]

My soon to be 9 yr old would love this, it's his birthday 2 days after the match so it would be a birthday he would never forget.

[AddictedToRadley]

My 7 year old son would love to do this as he's a huge football fan. Having had so many health issues throughout his life I am very pleased to say he is now fit and healthy. He is a very selfless young man and often thinks of others above himself. A good example would be last year when he decided he didn't need Christmas presents as he had a baby sister that he'd been praying for for a long time so he donated all his Christmas presents to the Salvation Army locally so that children without loving families would have a special Christmas. The year before he'd heard about children going to bed hungry and parents having to use food banks (he'd previously thought all starving children were in Africa) so he did some fund raising and raised enough to buy 98 large selection boxes so the children would have something to open Christmas morning (he gave them all wrapped) and also have something nice to eat. He really is so kind and thoughtful and understands that having a loving family is worth a lot more than anything material.

If he was given this opportunity it would show him that good things do happen to good people and this would be such a huge reward for all his selfless acts of kindness and is something that money could never buy.

Whoever is chosen, I hope you have a wonderful time and enjoy the experience as a once in a lifetime experience. Good luck everyone I'm sure each and every child deserves this as much as the next.

[TheCookingMonster]

As a family we are football mad, love watching and playing the game and are members of the England supporters club. My dd was fortunate enough to win the chance to go out at Wembley with Wigan for the FA CUP Semi finals in 2013 and has been on a real high ever since. My Ds was 11 on the 9th May and he has said to me 'it's my dream to go out with England but I'm running out of time as I'm nearly too old!! I don't know what that makes me!! He's asthmatic and takes his medicine every day without prompting, he works really hard at school and has had SATS tests this week. I can't tell you how much this would mean to him.

[Nerdygalwithabook]

He isn't my son but my brother.
He is an amazing human being. Kind and gentle and caring. He understands wordy issues amazingly and I really appreciate him. He adores football and that's good for him because he gets bullied at school. He is about to check out a football club (different one to the bully's)
He really deserves it because he deserves amazing and great things to happen. X

[tinyterrors]

My 7 year old ds would be ecstatic if he won this. He eats sleeps and breathes football, if there's a football within 50 feet he'll find it and start a kick about, even at 8am when he should be getting his school things ready. The first thing he tells me when I pick him up from school is how many goals he scored and who should have been sent off for fouls. He's forever talking football with dh and Manchester United is his favourite team. He amazes me with how much he knows about the players and stats. He's dying to see Man U play but getting tickets is nigh on impossible, I've quite literally been trying for years but they're always sold out. Winning this wouldn't just make his year but his life.

[onlywhenyouleave]

I have a 7 year old and a 9 year old who are both obsessed with football. They cannot wait for the European Championships to start and have been reading everything they can get their hands on about it.

This would be an absolute dream come true for them.

Finally, DS2 told me a couple of weeks ago that his life would be complete once he has been to the Etihad stadium so how lovely would it be for you to fulfil his ambitions in such grand style 😂

[Spotthezebra]

My little boy (well he's 11, but the youngest of 4 and my baby) would absolutely love this opportunity. He has been football mad ever since he was able to communicate and it's never waned. He still has the little velvet soft football he had as a toddler and kicks it around when it's raining if he can't get outside. He watches youtube videos of players tactics and can name all players. He plays for both a school team and an outside team and practises whenever he has the opportunity. As we live in South Devon there's not much happening down here ( Lidl only opened a shop here last year)!. His talents are good but he has so much enthusiasm for the game and it would really make his year to be chosen.
Thank you for reading, and good luck everyone, it sounds a fantastic opportunity for all football mad children xx

[YoureAllABunchOfBastards]

My 9 year old would love this chance. He's had a lousy few months - lost two great- grandparents, a grandparent and our beloved cat. He is also a Newcastle fan so hasn't even been cheered up by football, but he loves the game - would play all day every day if he could and when he isn't playing is watching