It was an early start for everyone involved as the players and parents from Kilgetty AFC Under 10s boarded their coach for London at 4 am last Thursday.
The FA/McDonalds National Football Tournament, featuring over 700 children from across the country, would be kicking off at 10 am in Northwick Park, and Kilgetty Football Club would be one of only three teams from Wales taking part in this prestigious festival.
Not surprisingly, the Kilgetty players were somewhat fatigued from the early start and the long journey, but they all gave of their best from the first whistle.
Whilst Kilgetty had been nominated by the FAW Trust because of its standing in Wales as an example of football development, many of the other teams involved had also been selected from the English counties for similar reasons and it soon became clear that Kilgetty were competing against the best that England had to offer.
Kilgetty remained unbeaten throughout the early part of the competition, only conceding one goal, until the final game of the morning, when they were undone by a single breakaway goal. It was a tough one to take as they had dominated the match, having hit both the post and the crossbar as they peppered the opposition goal, but in the end the tiredness probably got the better of them.
This one defeat was soon forgotten, however, as the boys boarded the bus to make the short journey over to Wembley Stadium for the second half of the festival. Upon arrival, the parents were issued with their tickets and proceeded to the turnstiles, whilst the players and coaches were led to the players' entrance.
A wonderful experience unfolded before them as the boys were led through the inner sanctum of the stadium, passing the players' dressing rooms, down the famous tunnel and out onto the pitch at Wembley Stadium. Gob-smacked, call it what you will, this was the first time all day that the boys had been silent as they stood in awe at the wonder of their surroundings.
Once all the teams had gathered, Sir Trevor Brooking addressed the crowd, welcoming everyone to Wembley, and briefly discussing his work in football development in England, before handing the microphone over to Sir Geoff Hurst, McDonalds director of football. Not one to mince his words, Sir Geoff spoke further about how we can better develop young footballers in this country, by letting kids play in an unpressurised environment, ending with the advice, "Coaches, take a step back and let the kids play. Parents, you need to shut up!"
For the young players, the significance of spending time with Sir Trevor Brooking and Sir Geoff Hurst was a bit lost on them, but when Premiership and England striker Michael Owen appeared from the tunnel, there was pandemonium. Owen spoke briefly, in between the deafening racket of the kids' cheers, and then made his way over to be part of a huge group photo with all 56 teams.
As fortune would have it, Owen chose to come and talk with the players from Kilgetty whilst waiting for the photographers. The boys were mesmerised as they all shook his hand, Oliver Gamble stating that he would "never wash this hand again." Although, his father might argue that this wasn't such a great sacrifice for Ollie.
After all the photographs and autographs had been done, it was back to the football. Each team was randomly paired with another for their one match in the stadium. The players prepared themselves for their game, but for the coaches, the outcome of this match became irrelevant, as everyone knew this was not about playing your strongest team and trying to win the game. It was all about ensuring that all of the squad members got an opportunity to play at this iconic stadium.
Kilgetty, somewhat overcome by the occasion, went a goal down early on, and soon conceded two more. However, they were not going to go down without a fight and from this point on, they fought their way back into the match, until they firmly had the game under their control.
Attacking down both wings, Kilgetty opened up the opposition defence, and when the ball fell to Alex Cox in the centre of midfield, he made no mistake in smashing the ball through a crowd of defenders and past the outstretched goalkeeper with such venom he could have broken the back of the net.
A distant roar went up from the small stadium crowd as the Kilgetty players ran off in celebration.
The match finished 3-1, but the boys could be proud of what they had achieved.
It had been a long, long day, and this momentous occasion was about to be capped as the boys heaved their weary legs up the famous steps to the Royal Box to receive their medals.
The coach had thought his players might rest on the journey home, but many of them were still singing and cheering when they arrived back in Kilgetty just before midnight. It had been an incredible day. After all, how many can say that they've played at Wembley? Maybe one day, some of them might play there again.