Local Club Trains With Leicester City First Team
- Aylestone Park train with Leicester City First Team players at Belvoir Drive
- The amateur five-a-side team play in the semi-finals of the FA People's Cup on Sunday
- Players get a tour of the training ground, before doing drills with the First Team
Aylestone Park, an amateur five-a-side team, who play in the Adult Male Premiership Disability category of the FA People's Cup, were invited down to Leicester City's training ground to play alongside players such as Marc Albrighton, Danny Simpson and Wes Morgan.
Local Club Trains With First Team
Aylestone Park trained with the first team ahead of their FA People's Cup semi-final.
The session saw the players from Aylestone Park warm-up with the First Team, following a tour of the training ground with Club Ambassador Alan 'The Birch' Birchenall. The team then took part in a possession drill, before observing a private 11 vs. 11 fixture between the Leicester City players.
Speaking about hosting the team at the training ground, Foxes' defender Christian Fuchs told LCFC TV: "It was a fun experience for all of us, especially for the boys to be in a First Team training session. I think they were a little bit nervous at the beginning, but they settled in and I think they have some decent players.
"I wish them all the best for Sunday. I see they are enjoying what they are doing and are competitive, so I'm hoping they have a good tournament."
The team also sought some invaluable advice on how to prepare for their big weekend. Assistant Manager Michael Appleton said: "They told me they've got eight 20 minute games on the day which is a lot of football to play. First and foremost they have to enjoy it, because if they don't, they won't play well and won't get anything out of it.
"For me, it's about staying together as a team. Go and win as many games as you possibly can and the simple old adage of score more than the opposition and you've got half a chance!"
Aylestone Park, who progressed from their regional heats in February, will be flying the flag for the City of Leicester as they head to Birmingham on Sunday to take on teams from across the Midlands. The Finals of the competition take place in April at St. George's Park, the home of England's National Teams.
Andrew Lennon, the Coach of Aylestone Park, said: "It's been a privilege to watch our players train alongside the professionals and we're hugely grateful to The FA and Leicester City for giving us this opportunity. As an all-inclusive club, we're always on the lookout for new recruits and we hope that experiences like this will inspire more disability players to give football a try.
"I don't think you could ask for a better way to prepare for a football match, so we'll be heading into this weekend's FA People's Cup Semi-finals in high spirits. This will certainly be an experience they'll never forget!"