WITH hundreds of enthusiastic football-loving players to choose from and injury-free selections, it was enough to make England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson green with envy. However, youngsters on Teesside were involved in their own world cup - thousands of miles from Japan, where the England squad is preparing for action.
About 100 teams took part in their own mini world cup competition at Acklam Sports Centre, organised by Middlesbrough Council and the North Riding County Football Association.
The primary school five-a-side teams taking part each adopted the name of a country for which they had to design a flag. There were prizes for the best flag, school strips for each competition winner and medals for all entrants.
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