A BOURNEMOUTH U11 football team have won a southern regional title in a national competition and will head to London this July.

Stars Football Academy U11s visited Stoneham Lane Football Complex on June 22 to compete in the Tournament One southern regional championships and came home victorious after winning on penalties. 

The title win means that the team will head to London on July 20-21 to play in the national championship against the North, London, and Midlands title winners and runner-ups. 

Stars co-founder, Sam Bayston, said: "We ended up drawing both the semi-finals and finals but won on penalties both times.

"It's a big achievement and it's good to be able to represent Bournemouth and Dorset in the national finals."

The event was extra special for Sam as the team that will go to the finals was the first-ever team he coached under Stars ten years ago. 

While a nervous end to the match, Sam stated he was incredibly proud of the team, some of which he has known since they were two. 

He said: "This team were our first ever team, they were our first ever showcase team when he created Stars ten years ago. 

"To see them succeed is crazy, I've had some of them since they were two years old and fix or since of them have probably only ever been coached by myself and Stars so have no other influence. 

"Showing character and winning two back-to-back penalties sort of epitomises what we try and create with mentally strong children that overcome challenges."

While nerves will be high in London, Sam is keen to prepare the boys as much as possible while making sure it is an experience they can enjoy and remember, not marred by too much pressure. 

To be held at Brunel University, the team has begun to look for sponsorship to help hire a coach and book an overnight stay so it can be a fun experience for the kids. 

Sam said: "We into this weekend with zero expectations for the weekend and came home with a great win."

"I think the same applies and we'll see where it takes us game by game."