Saffron Jordan on the U16 Girls' Amazing Season

"Representing Manchester United and the Foundation in the Tesco Cup was possibly the best thing that’s ever happened to me and our team, because it gave us a chance that not many other young women footballers would have – playing against other talented teams at professional stadiums like the Walker stadium and the Reebok.

It was amazing to play in the final because we got to meet some of our football idols like Rachel Brown and Andy Townsend, who gave us all some great advice about the sport that we love. The atmosphere inside each stadium made the day for us players because when the crowd was shouting us and cheering our names it gave us a real boost.

Winning the national final meant we got to represent our country.  That meant a lot to me and my team mates because it is something that we all want to be able to do in the future and to have a little taster was fantastic.

I was so happy to be named 'Player of the Tournament'. It was the biggest highlight of my career up to now, because it was out of a lot of talented footballers and I was chosen.  Plus I was picked by Rachel Brown and Andy Townsend, who are experienced international players. Being 'Player of the Tournament' meant the world to me.  I trained hard for the competition and to be awarded for my hard work made it all worth it.

In the final game of the cup we were very nervous, because we didn't want to come all this way just to come second place. All of the team knew that it would be a hard game because we were up against last year’s winners Hibernian, who were representing Scotland.  And to add to the pressure we were playing in The Reebok Stadium in front hundreds of screaming fans. But we were all focused on what we had to do and we gave everything we had, with some top performances by my team mates we dominated the game and won the match 1-0.

Taking part in the Tesco Cup was great for our team because we knew that we were going to be against some great teams who are the best out of their country. It made our team develop because we beat the best and we did it for England.  Winning was even more special because we knew that we were representing Manchester United at the same time the first team were winning the Premier League and playing in the Champions League." 

Watch the Girls' team in the Tesco Cup Final