Our Under 11 Royals travelled to Hampshire FA’s impressive Winklebury facility, which is also home to our friends at Basingstoke Town yesterday where they faced Chineham Tigers U11 Amber in the Cup Final of the Peter Houseman Youth Football League  Under 11 Trophy League Cup.

The Peter Houseman Youth Football League Cup operates in a similar format to the Champion’s League, where each team is entered into a preliminary group stage with teams being drawn randomly.

Our youngsters began their cup campaign in October 2024 they topped Group G with two wins from two against Hampshire based Berg Youth U11 Maroon & Atalanta Sports (U12) Sunday Girls.

The competition rules state that once each group has completed their games the top 2 teams will move to the trophy
competition and the bottom 2/3 teams to the plate competitions.

As a result of topping their group our youngsters progressed to the Cup Group Phase where the initial nine groups featuring a combined total of thirty-three teams became a total of 5 groups with a combined total of fifteen teams.

Our youngsters were drawn in Group C alongside Sherborne St John U11 Tigers, Oakley Youth U11 Tornadoes and Woolton Hill Argyle U11. Where once again they topped their group with three wins from three.

Our Under 11 Royals then progressed through the knockout stages of the Peter Houseman Youth League Under 11 Trophy League Cup with a Quarter-Final win against Basingstoke Colts U11 Storm, before seeing off near-neighbours and local rivals AFC Aldermaston U11 in the Semi-Final here in West Reading to set up yesterday’s final.

Club Chairman, Martin Law had this to say: “As a club we’re proud to offer our youngsters a fun, safe and inclusive environment for them to play and develop in. Every season our youth academy continues to develop and that’s thanks to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved,  from the managers, coaches, players and parents and it’s great to see that hard work rewarded with moments like this.

A huge well-done to Rob, Kieron and the Under 11 Royals on being crowned League Cup Champions. The youngsters are a credit to the club, themselves and their parents and they should be extremely proud of a brilliant cup run, where they’ve gone undefeated from the early group stages. A fantastic achievement for everyone involved.”