Bishop Burton College Football Academy reach National Cup Final

Bishop Burton College is delighted to announce their hugely successful Football Academy have reached the final of the English Colleges Football Association (ECFA) Premier National Cup.  

Photo: Debbie Gould

Two years after winning the ECFA Premier League, the college has reached the national cup final for the first time, firmly cementing Bishop Burton Football Academy’s place as one of the strongest college football programmes in the country.  

The team which is made up of first, second, and third year students, secured their place in the final with wins over Gateshead College, Tyne Met College, York College and Bridgwater College.  

Bishop Burton will now play South Devon College later this month in the final at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, the home of Doncaster Rovers.   

The college’s football programme has been competing nationally for several years and gone from strength to strength with a number of the footballers playing semi-professionally.  In addition to the high-levels of coaching and fantastic state-of-the art facilities, Football Academy students also benefit from the presence of main professional partners Hull City Tigers who are based on-site. This provides college players with the unique opportunity to experience a taste of the professional game.  

Director of Football James Bennett said “I’m extremely proud of how the college football programme continues to grow and develop and reaching national finals is a key part of this. To once again be amongst the top colleges in the country by reaching the final of the ECFA Premier Cup is a fantastic achievement by all of the players and staff who work so hard.” 

James further commented “At the end of this academic year we will have a number of second and third year students who will be moving onto university, employment and even scholarship opportunities in America. To hopefully finish their journey at the college with a national final win would be nothing less than they deserve.”  

Reaching the final of the Premier Cup is a great reward for the talented group of young footballers’ hard work and the college is now on the lookout for more promising talent. Budding footballers in Year 11 are invited to attend the college’s Football Open Day on Wednesday 13 April which is open to any who might like to join the men’s and women’s Football Academy. Anyone interested should contact James directly by emailing james.bennett@bishopburton.ac.uk.  

The ECFA Premier National Cup final is on Wednesday 27 April with a 7.30pm kick off.