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United Women duo delight girls at Foundation partner school

Hayley Ladd and Maya Le Tissier took time away from Carrington to spend the afternoon with aspiring female players at Buile Hill Academy in Salford, one of Manchester United Foundation’s partner high schools.

| by Matthew Brown

The Reds pair joined girls on the football pitch outside, helping them to hone their skills, before answering questions about their careers and lives on and off the pitch, including lending advice to the budding youngsters.

Of course, there was also time for selfies and autographs aplenty, as the duo left a lasting and special impression on the school’s students.

Le Tissier, visiting a Foundation project for the first time as captain, said: “It’s great to come and be a part of the girls’ training session and answer their questions. It’s super nice to give back.

“It’s amazing to see that as a United player we’re being role models, but the Foundation is doing the work behind the scenes as well, and that’s only going to put us in good stead for the future.”

Ladd added: “The energy from the girls was really positive. It’s a really nice change for us to be able to see how excited the girls are to meet us and getting stuck into their football programme.

“Hopefully it has a great impact and inspires them to do not just football, but anything they want to do.”

The young people were delighted to meet some of their heroes, as Tyra explained: “It made me feel very happy to see my team come to see me at school.

“I’m going to think about what they’ve said next time I play. I learnt a lot of things about being more confident when passing the ball.”

Classmate Darcy Lea added: “I liked it when they came in to take pictures with us and signed our t-shirts – it’s a good memory of what happened today.

“When I was outside, I enjoyed it because I actually scored against Maya! It was amazing and really fun.”