We have four teams as our Guard of Honour on Saturday when we welcome Burton Albion to the Kassam Stadium and all of them are representing Wheatley Football.
The teams being represented are Wheatley Purples (Under 7s) who are coached by Ashley Buttress, Wheatley Blacks (Under 7s) coached by Richard Noake, Wheatley Whites (Under 7s) coached by Etienne Letellier and Wheatley Under 9s coached by Nat Smith.
All teams play across the Oxfordshire FA Youth Leagues.
The village of Wheatley in the OX33 area of Oxford has always had a very strong sporting background, but it is only within the last few years that the football club has expanded the youth section significantly, and there are now seven youth teams across four different age ranges.
The values of Wheatley Football Club are all about inclusivity - all of the coaches and committee champion the idea that football is a game for everybody, and this forms the foundations of our club's core beliefs.
All of the coaches encourage enjoyment of matches, tournaments and training sessions whilst developing everyone's skill set through their sessions and time with the players. The club have seen a huge uptake in children joining their "mini's" training sessions for younger players, and have seen these players gone on to form three Under 7s teams (one of whom are currently playing a year above their age group).
Ashley Buttress, coach of Wheatley Purples (U7), said "It's been fantastic seeing our players come together and develop individually and as a group since I took them on around 12 months ago. We have two sayings in our team - the first is that we're all here to have fun and enjoy ourselves, and the other is that we never stop running! It's amazing to see how far each player has come already, and we hope they all continue playing and enjoying football for as many years as I have."
All of the players forming the Guard of Honour are hoping Oxford Utd deliver three huge points against Burton Albion on Saturday. There will be over 100 Wheatley Football Club representatives attending the game, so expect some noise from the South Stand! (especially for Matty Taylor and Cameron Brannagan who are big favourites among the players!)