Leeds United players Scott Godden, Harry Christy and Charlyann Pizzarello recently dropped in to two Soccer School Camps to get involved with the activities and chat with local youngsters.

Delivered by the Leeds United Foundation, the camps ran during the Easter holidays across Leeds and West Yorkshire, using football to inspire children aged five to 12 years old.

The sessions are intended to get people active, develop their confidence and meet new friends, with football matches and other sessions running throughout the day.

Whites Under-21 duo Scott and Harry joined the groups in Wakefield, where they spoke about their time in football from grassroots level to their journey through the academy, with the children keen to find out about their experiences so far.

Daniel Crawford, Football Participation Officer at the Leeds United Foundation, said: “Football touches the hearts of so many people. These camps are somewhere where they can come and have fun, meet new friends and practice their skills or even try football for the first time.

“To see how much the kids are growing in confidence is huge! It was an amazing opportunity for the players to come over. They have joined in with our matches and answered a few questions and it has really opened the eyes of our participants to see what it is like to be at that level. We want the younger generations to be inspired by our players.”

Scott grew up in the area and stopping by his old school brought back memories of attending similar sessions in his childhood, so he was keen to get involved with the activities and chat with the students.

“There are a lot of kids and we have joined in with all the different groups, so we have had a really good time,” explained the defender. “It is good to see because they might aspire to be a footballer so to meet us put a smile on their face!”

Harry echoed those thoughts, adding: “It is really nice to be able to give back because like Scott said, we have been in these positions when we were young playing football because we love the game. It has been really nice to come down and see that continuing. It was brilliant to see just how much fun they have playing football.”

Women’s team left-back Charlyann also got involved with one of the camps in Leeds, similarly joining in with the sessions and speaking about her time in football, discussing representing her country and what that meant to her.

“It was nice helping out in the community today” the Gibraltar international said. “I have been playing football with the young ones, answering questions and everyone has had fun. It is important because this is the next generation that will love football and go on to play. It is important for them to see that they can get there but also that we aren’t isolated from them and are no different.”

More information about the Leeds United Foundation can be found HERE.