Preston North End's Chris Maxwell was one of a number of spectators who witnessed a record 32 school teams come together for PNE's annual Kids Cup competition.
Ran in conjunction with Preston North End, Preston City Council and the EFL Trust, the event saw over 200 school children wear their school colours with pride as local schools played against each other in the unique tournament at PNE's Community Training Centre, PlayFootball.
Speaking after spending his afternoon watching the talent on show, PNE's shot stopper Maxwell was more than impressed with what he had seen.
"It's been a fantastic standard and it's brilliant of Preston North End to put this on,” said Chris.
“You can see the smiles on their faces and you can tell that they're thoroughly enjoying themselves which is great to see and of course let's hope the majority of them support Preston North End too.
"It's a bit hectic here but that's how it should be; it should be kids enjoying themselves and playing football with their mates which is important. I'm jealous, I want to get involved!”
64 matches and an afternoon later, Harris Primary School were crowned victorious beating St Andrews Primary in the final but PNE's Schools Provison Manager, Harriet Creighton-Levis felt all 32 competing teams were more than worthy winners.
"Congratulations to Harris Primary School who performed admirably throughout the competition, but a big well done to all teams who have come out and represented their school honourably this afternoon.
"All of the kids have shown the right attitude and performed to the best of their ability and that's great to see.
"Everybody has come together, the club, the council and the community to put on a great afternoon. We even had our students with us who have volunteered to referee the games and manage the pitches.
"A thank you to all of who have been involved in the tournament, to the kids and their teachers, right through to our staff to help deliver what's been a great day all round."
After winning the tournament, Harris Primary School will now compete at the regional stage of the competition as representatives of Preston North End.
The winners of that stage will then represent their club at Wembley before the Championship Play-Off Final in May.
Pivotal to the coordination of the tournament was Schools Competition Manager of Preston City Council, Dean Brandwood who emphasised the importance of the competition.
"We've always worked closely with Preston North End and this is just one of the competitions which has worked so well over the years," said Dean.
"We want to get a lot more kids playing football regardless of their ability, but we also want them to get involved with North End, get them to club matches and get them to the ground.
"It's worked really well and we have a lot of teachers who help out with PNE so there's a really good link between the club, the schools and the council.
"The kids certainly look like they're enjoying themselves. We have 32 teams here with some schools coming here year after year.
"It's about the kids participating and having fun and the growth of this competition shows that. We had about 24 teams last year and about a dozen to 18 teams the year before and now we've got 32 teams so it just shows it's the participation that captures the imagination of the schools."
Speaking after spending his afternoon watching the talent on show, PNE's shot stopper Maxwell was more than impressed with what he had seen.
"It's been a fantastic standard and it's brilliant of Preston North End to put this on,” said Chris.
“You can see the smiles on their faces and you can tell that they're thoroughly enjoying themselves which is great to see and of course let's hope the majority of them support Preston North End too.
"It's a bit hectic here but that's how it should be; it should be kids enjoying themselves and playing football with their mates which is important. I'm jealous, I want to get involved!”
64 matches and an afternoon later, Harris Primary School were crowned victorious beating St Andrews Primary in the final but PNE's Schools Provison Manager, Harriet Creighton-Levis felt all 32 competing teams were more than worthy winners.
"Congratulations to Harris Primary School who performed admirably throughout the competition, but a big well done to all teams who have come out and represented their school honourably this afternoon.
"All of the kids have shown the right attitude and performed to the best of their ability and that's great to see.
"Everybody has come together, the club, the council and the community to put on a great afternoon. We even had our students with us who have volunteered to referee the games and manage the pitches.
"A thank you to all of who have been involved in the tournament, to the kids and their teachers, right through to our staff to help deliver what's been a great day all round."
After winning the tournament, Harris Primary School will now compete at the regional stage of the competition as representatives of Preston North End.
The winners of that stage will then represent their club at Wembley before the Championship Play-Off Final in May.
Pivotal to the coordination of the tournament was Schools Competition Manager of Preston City Council, Dean Brandwood who emphasised the importance of the competition.
"We've always worked closely with Preston North End and this is just one of the competitions which has worked so well over the years," said Dean.
"We want to get a lot more kids playing football regardless of their ability, but we also want them to get involved with North End, get them to club matches and get them to the ground.
"It's worked really well and we have a lot of teachers who help out with PNE so there's a really good link between the club, the schools and the council.
"The kids certainly look like they're enjoying themselves. We have 32 teams here with some schools coming here year after year.
"It's about the kids participating and having fun and the growth of this competition shows that. We had about 24 teams last year and about a dozen to 18 teams the year before and now we've got 32 teams so it just shows it's the participation that captures the imagination of the schools."