Raf Team ‘train Like England’
Before England took to the fields of St George’s Park this week to prepare for their UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers, the training facility was filled by a squad of RAF personnel – fresh from their air base football pitch – as the lucky winners of Samsung UK’s ‘Train Like England’ experience.
As the Official Consumer Electronics & Smartphone Supplier to the England Team, Samsung UK ran a Facebook competition which ultimately saw RAF Valley FC receive a first hand insight into how the England squad will spend their time at St. George’s Park preparing for the games against San Marino and Estonia.
Each member of the winning RAF Valley FC squad also received a Samsung Galaxy S5 handset, pre-loaded with state-of the-art health features including a heart rate monitor and Samsung’s ‘S Health’ App, in order to track their heart rate, work rate and calories consumed throughout the day.
Senior Aircraftsman Finlay Hanslip, who entered RAF Valley FC into the competition, said: ‘The team’s made up of a great bunch of lads, including fast-jet pilots, search-and-rescue helicopter crew, air traffic controllers and flight operations assistants.’
RAF Valley FC kicked off their ‘Train Like England’ experience by travelling in the Official England Team Bus from their base at RAF Valley, on the Isle of Anglesey, to St. George’s Park, before a night at the National Football Centre’s hotel.
The next morning the RAF team, dressed in full England training kit, were put through their paces by FA experts, as well as specialists from Michael Johnson Performance in the Centre’s world-class facilities, mirroring sessions planned for the England squad.
Check out the video of the day at Sport Industry TV.
Steve Kemp, England Senior Men’s Physiotherapist, took the team through a series of warm-up drills with FA coach Mike Thorpe leading an England-style training session on the ‘David Beckham Pitch’.
Russell Taylor, Vice President, corporate marketing, Samsung Electronics UK, added: ‘Samsung has a long association with football, both in the UK and globally, and we’re delighted that this partnership adds to our on-going commitment to all football fans. We’re really pleased that RAF Valley FC had the opportunity to use Samsung’s technology to help them train like England.’
Samsung UK is the official Consumer Electronics & Smartphone Supplier to the England squad. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/samsungsport
