We’ve had lots of responses from staff and students around the University with their photos and anecdotes from a memorable game last weekend when Portsmouth Football Club won the Checkatrade Trophy at Wembley Stadium.
Pompey beat Sunderland on penalties in front of a record 85,000 fans, after the dramatic game finished 2-2 after extra time – with the University of Portsmouth branded on the front of their shirts as the club’s main sponsor. Around 40,000 Pompey fans travelled to London for the final, with many of our University community among them.
See the trophy on campus
You can relive Pompey’s Checkatrade trophy triumph this Thursday (11 April) when Portsmouth FC bring their coveted prize to the University for you to see first hand.
The trophy will be visiting the Spinnaker Sports Centre from 2.00pm – 4.00pm where staff and students will have the opportunity to get a photo taken with the trophy.
Outreach between the University and Portsmouth FC
Last week pupils from Horndean Technology College caught a glimpse of the newly-acquired silverware as part of a motivational presentation organised through the University partnership with the football club to inspire pupils to achieve their own dreams and aspirations. One year 9 pupil wrote a report of the visit, which he described as ‘inspiring’. The report concluded:
The University’s outreach team also organises a seven-week intensive programme for school children, Step UP to the Podium, to increase positive attitudes of learning through sport. A celebration event for the programme was held at Fratton Park on Wednesday as part of our partnership agreement, with footballer Christian Burgess delivering a talk and giving out prizes after judging the best research projects.
Staff and student photos
We asked the University community to send us their photos of the event in return for being entered into a prize draw to win signed Pompey footballs and shirts.
The winners of the competition are Tarek Fergani and David Hyde. A big thank you to everyone who entered and you can see a selection of photographs that were emailed in below:
It was a brilliant session for the students, who left the library motivated and excited about their futures. The partnership between two of the greatest institutions of Portsmouth has been incredibly successful so far, and there is no reason why it shall not be for years to come.