Following the announcement that UCFB is to sponsor and host select fixtures for the English Colleges Football Association (ECFA) and its national teams, the first of the scheduled games took place this month.

The match-up was the ECFA’s women’s first taste of action in this year’s FA WSL Academy League Cup. Unfortunately for the ESFA though, they would fall to a heavy first-leg defeat as a ruthless Manchester City Women’s Academy triumphed 9-0.

However, despite the heavy score line, the team remained upbeat about the experience. ESFA captain, Georgie Barbour-Gresham, said: “We’ve all come here and learnt from our experiences playing against a top WSL Academy side. We’ve only been able to play twice together as a group, so it’s been a privilege today to play against them and learn from the experience.”

The second leg of the fixture takes place this Wednesday at UCFB Wembley facility, The Hive.

Fortunately, the men’s side endured much more of a positive experience this week as they locked horns with their Australian Schools counterparts in a tour fixture at the same venue.

Despite trailing by a goal at the break, the Three Lions deservedly fought back to claim a second-half equaliser.

The fixtures are the first instalment of a series of ECFA fixtures that UCFB will host throughout the year, as the partnership between both parties continues to evolve.

Read more about UCFB’s exciting partnership with the ECFA.