Samsung Win A Pro Contract Set For Final
22 amateur footballers will face the biggest match of their lives in the New Year when they take part in the final of Samsung’s Win A Pro Contract competition – in a bid for one of three professional contracts on offer at Wycombe Wanderers, Swindon Town and Leyton Orient.
The hopefuls will take part in an 11-a-side match, on Sunday 12th January at Swindon Town’s County Ground, under the watchful eye of the club managers and official scouts. From there, a select group of players from the final will be invited by the three managers to spend a boot-camp week training with the first team, before final decisions are made.
This season’s initiative attracted a record 5,700 entrants, with the top 360 picked for regional trials at Goal Soccer Centres across the country.
The semi-finals – held at Wycombe’s Adams Park and Leyton Orient’s Matchroom stadium earlier this month – then saw these 360 players whittled down to just 88 selected players, who competed for a place in the final 22.
Orient manager Russell Slade said: ‘Talent is important, but what we’re after is someone with the right attitude who is willing to give everything and also take things on board and learn.’
Wycombe Wanderer’s boss Gareth Ainsworth commented: ‘Some of these players will have dropped out of the league system and had experience before – this is a second chance for them.’
Swindon Town manager Mark Cooper added: ‘As well as their natural talent, I’ll be looking out for players that are not afraid of rolling their sleeves up, doing a bit of hard work and committing to the cause.
