Bianca Ford is pictured centre with PC Zaihd Rouf (right) and Anthony Price, Security Manager (left). (Back row left to right) Jay Dibble, Dominic Samotaj, Bianca, Evan Skuse. (Front row left to right) Jack Colcombe, Sam Spiteri, Sam Aspland, Abbie Souch.
An eleven-year-old girl from Cwmbran has proven to be a top striker after scoring the winning goal in a football tournament.
Organised by Cwmbran Shopping and Gwent Police, The Cwmbran Shopping Shield tournament brought together six local schools to The Football Factory in Cwmbran.
Bianca Ford, who is in year six at St David’s RC Primary School in Pontnewydd, scored the winning goal, beating Llanyravon Primary School who had an all-male team.
The successful team, made up of six boys and two girls, were labelled champions after winning six out of seven games, with a final score of 2-0.
Bianca, who is a midfielder, has recently moved to Thornhill, Cwmbran from Surrey with her family.
The Manchester United fan is the second in her family to play for the school’s all girls team and was selected to compete in the mixed gender tournament by team captain, Sam Aspland, 11.
Sam, from St Dials, Cwmbran, led the team to victory after weeks of practice. The Cardiff City fan, who wants to be a footballer, said he chose Bianca to be part of the team due to her outstanding skills on the pitch.
He said: “It felt amazing to win the Cwmbran Shopping Shield as we trained regularly before the tournament. Bianca is a really good player and I knew she would help us win.”
St David’s RC Primary School were presented with the Cwmbran Shopping Shield by Martyn Haftowski, Operations Manager at Cwmbran Shopping. Inspector Richard Blakemore, from Gwent Police, presented the runners up with certificates.
Martyn said: “I was thrilled to see the teams do so well at the tournament, which successfully brought children together for a day of physical activity. Both Cwmbran Shopping and Gwent Police highly value community-led activities and we were pleased that teachers and staff at The Football Factory found the event to be a highly entertaining experience.
“Due to the success of the day, we are planning to hold the tournament annually and urge school children of all ages to get involved next year.”
Bianca, who was taught to play football by her brother, 25, said: “I really enjoy playing football and the Cwmbran Shopping Shield was brilliant. I have been playing from the age of five and it is my favourite hobby.
“I can’t wait to win more matches when I start at St Albans high school in September, and would like to be a captain one day.”
John Healy, Headteacher at St David’s RC Primary School, said: “As a school, sports are very important to us, and we wanted to enter a mixed gender team to reflect our ethos of encouraging girls to play football. We currently have a fantastic girls’ team who love playing and are very good.
“Bianca has only been at the school for a month and yet has made her mark as a star player. The team’s determination to succeed was shown in their success and Sam, the captain, is destined to be a professional footballer. He and Bianca, are stars for the future and we are looking forward to taking part in the tournament next year.”