At 8pm on Sunday the entire nation will grind to a halt as England step foot inside Wembley for one last time, with the chance to abolish 55 years of hurt in 90 minutes of spine-tingling, nerve-inducing football.

While most of us will be watching on tenterhooks from afar, several UCFB students and graduates are lucky enough to be working at the event, with a front row seat and a chance to marinade in the momentous occasion.

Official Hospitality team member and a BA (Hons) Multimedia Sports Journalism student, Jack Bibb, said: “It feels amazing to work at EURO 2020, it’s such a privilege. I feel so proud to be a part of this brilliant tournament and it’s been amazing so far. Both semi-finals have had amazing atmospheres – especially the England game, of course. I expect the atmosphere to be at least as good, probably better, at the final.”

Having worked at Wembley Stadium throughout Euro 2020, these students have had the privilege of witnessing England’s first major sporting event with mass crowds for 16 months, as well as a heroic England team crawl closer and closer to the final, qualifying on Wednesday for the first time in Euros history.

Commenting on working at the tournament, Ben Brown, a BA (Hons) International Football Business student and Euro 2020 Mobility Maker, said: “This experience has been a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’ve met so many interesting and helpful people and to experience a tournament up close and personal was amazing, especially with England doing so well. I can’t wait for the final.”

With students also able to utilise the experience to expand their network and contacts within the sports industry, the benefits of working the tournament extend far beyond a series of mouth-watering 90-minute matches. On Sunday, however, there will be a fixation on one thing and one thing only: an England win.

Sharing his predictions for the match, Jack said: “I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think England will do it. Home advantage, home crowd, best record so far in the tournament – I’ve got to back Gareth Southgate and the boys.”