Dave Prothero, Honorary Secretary of the Cumbria Schools Football Association spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips ahead of the Centenary Shield game between England and Scotland's respective Under 18 Schools' teams at Brunton Park on Friday evening, Prothero saying it is a chance for people to see some talented players coming through :
" We are hoping it all goes really well, it is a very good thing for the area and it is a chance for people to see some very talented players who come through, and a number of them going off quite often to make professional careers. Chris Smalling was at Fulham at the time and he played in this fixture two years ago at Wembley, and he recently transferred for £8 million to Manchester United.
" If you go back to 1979 when it was held up at Brunton Park and a very young Norman Whiteside played in that game for Northern Ireland, a skinny young lad he was too. He played a year young and infact he went on of course to score the famous youngest ever player to score a goal at Wembley in an FA Cup Final.
" The last one we held here was against Holland in 1996 and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink played, he of course had an illustrious career with Celtic and he is currently with Hull City. It seems that every time we hold one somebody crops up, Wes Saunders is another one, Newcastle and Carlisle, local people know Wes very well.
" We put in for this game to try to boost football within the area. It is a chance for us to fly the flag if you like for these lads. Every now and then we get the call and we are able to put it on. There will be a game every year at the National Stadium and it is a tremendous boost for the area.
" It is a real chance to see some lads of the future. You will spot people there, you will keep the programme and in five years time you will see some of these lads playing in the Premier League and so on and so forth. It is an absolute boost for the area, tremendous.
" With the results so far that England have got, this is their game in hand they have and they would go top of the table in the Centenary Shield if they were to win. The Republic of Ireland are currently top of the table with six points and England have four, so three on Friday would make it seven.
" There are a couple of lads from Dumfries who are playing for Scotland but the nearest we have in England, we have the lad Kris Wilkinson from Northumberland, he is a Heaton Manor School lad and he is playing on Friday evening. Also we have one from Durham, Andrew Kelly who is playing.
" Kick-off is at 7.40pm on the evening and you will be able to pay at the gate, it will be £5 for adults and anybody who is still at school, irrespective of age, it is only £3 to get in. So it is a tremendous evening and a chance to see these footballers, and it is of course St George's Day so a chance to cheer on the English. "