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Pontefract pupils meet England soccer legend
PUPILS at a Pontefract school scored an assembly with a difference when ex-England football legend John Barnes paid them a special visit.
Youngsters at Orchard Head Primary were able to meet the ex-Liverpool player and current Tranmere Rovers boss during a sports kit swap as part of the Score Ethiopia Kit Exchange.
Creative pupil Jordan Eccles beat competition from thousands of hopefuls from across the region to design his own colourful football strip.
The 11-year-old also met his Ethiopian counterpart Habtamu Tilahun Abrham from Hibret Elementary School in Lalibela, who had travelled 4,000 miles to attend the assembly and swap kits.
Just a few weeks after putting pencil to paper Jordan's colourful creation was manufactured into a full team strip and Score Ethiopia ambassador John Barnes was on hand to present the kits to each child.
He said: "Rarely have I witnessed such passion for the sport as I did in Ethiopia. The country truly has a footy-mad culture.
"Score Ethiopia is a superb way to use football to deliver much needed basic facilities to the Gondar region such as football kits, whilst also providing for children here.
"Jordan's design skills might even be called upon by Pontefract FC to design their next season's home kit!
"Football promotes health, teamwork and organisation. I would endorse the fact that if we look at any sport it promotes a healthy lifestyle and it is fantastic for children."
The Score Ethiopia campaign is a partnership between original 2-in-1 Wash and Go shampoo and education-based charity Link Ethiopia.
Soccer star John Barnes talks about 'that rap'
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Friday 25 May 2012
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