A Glimpse Into Life Where Soccer is King

Sandy Townsend
The Senior Boys’ and Girls’ Soccer trip to England from September 28 - October 8 was once again a ground-breaking trip; the first school trip after COVID, the first co-ed school soccer trip, and the largest school sports trip since the coed-rugby trip in 2001.
This was the third trip to England for the Senior Boys and a first for our Senior Girls. Similar to the original trip in 2016, the team and coaches got a firsthand glimpse at what it means to live in a country where soccer (football) is king. 

The overnight flight from Toronto to Heathrow left the team bleary-eyed, but ready for their first training sessions on UK soil. Dinner and a long sleep put everyone on the right foot for the next day’s games. The girls played their first match on Friday against Rugby Borough Football Club winning the match, while the boys lost their match against Quorn FC Academy.

On Saturday, our group of 29 students and five coach/teachers attended their first English Championship League match – Sheffield United vs. Birmingham City, which ended in a 1 - 1 draw. During the game, our players saw firsthand the passion for football that motivates spectators to travel across England to watch their favourite team. 

The following morning the group traveled to Stoke to watch another match, this time Stoke City v. Watford, another exciting game resulting in a 4-0 win for Watford. They then returned to Leicester for the boys’ second match v. AFC Academy, where they captured their first win 1-0 with Michael Di Poce scoring the only goal. The girls participated in a training session at Leicester City Training Ground.

On Monday following breakfast and homework, both teams had training sessions before lunch and some free time spent shopping and touring Leicester. That evening the boys walked to King Power Stadium to watch their first English Premier League match, Leicester City v. Nottingham Forest, in which Leicester emerged victorious, 4-0, and the jubilant crowd once again confirmed for all of us that football truly is life in this part of the world. Meanwhile the girls traveled to the LCFC Women’s training ground for a match where they played LCFC U16 Academy, a team with five girls on the England U16 training squad.

When dawn broke on Tuesday, our students were up early once again for breakfast and homework. In a late morning match, the boys took on the Fox Academy U16 team.The girls played their next match that night against Anstey Football Club losing 3-1, with Aris Dhanoa scoring the goal for CDS. The boys stayed for the first half before leaving for an evening of skittles. 

On Wednesday, the students took a break from playing football to watch one of Europe’s best teams in a Champions League match as Man City took on FC Copenhagen in City’s stadium in Manchester. Prior to the match, the team had a tour of Old Trafford, the home of Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United. Unfortunately, Ronaldo was busy and unable to meet with the players. Nonetheless, the tour went ahead as planned.

Thursday night they played their final matches of the tour, the girls ending off with a 2-1 win against Leicester (goals scored by Aris and Julia Casinha) and the boys finishing with a game against Barrow Town FC. Their final day in Leicester culminated with a personal tour of King Power Stadium with former Leicester City defender, Matt Elliott. 

On the final full day, the team traveled to London for some sightseeing, including Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden Market, before taking in our final match Queen’s Park Rangers v. Reading at Loftus Stadium, ending in a 2-1 win for the Rangers. 

Saturday morning, the group packed up and headed to Heathrow for their return to Canada in time to enjoy Thanksgiving weekend with family.

Experience the whole trip on the UK Soccer Trip's Official Instagram Page.
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Land Acknowledgment

CDS wishes to recognize and acknowledge the land on which the school operates. For thousands of years, these have been the traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. We also recognize the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe and the Haudenosaunee peoples who also shared this land.  CDS respects the relationship with these lands and recognizes that our connection can be strengthened by our continued relationship with all First Nations, by acknowledging our shared responsibility to respect and care for these lands and waters for future generations.

School Information

13415 Dufferin Street King, Ontario L7B 1K5 
(905) 833-1220 

communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca

Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.