It's Wembley way for the Sandwell Academy

The talented teenagers won the under-14 boys division of the FA People's Cup and will be presented with their trophy at the FA Cup Final on Saturday May 21.

Head teacher Simon Topper said: "Both our boys and girls teams thoroughly enjoyed the experience of competing in the competition, and for the boys to be crowned champions was an added bonus.

"Speaking to the boys when they returned to the Academy was wonderful, and they are so excited to be presented with the trophy at Wembley at the FA Cup Final."

Sandwell were among 35,000 teams that entered the tournament in January, across 11 different categories.

After weeks of winning qualifiers, two Sandwell teams figured in the finals as the under-16 girls also reached the show-piece in Sheffield. The finals were made up of groups with the winners progressing to the final.

While the girls were unfortunate not to progress, the boys dominated their group, winning early games against Southwark All Stars and North Tyneside B 8-1 and 7-1 respectively.

They faced Haverhill Rovers in the final, scoring two early goals before going on to win 4-2.

Harvey Cartwright, who scored in the final, said: "It's a great feeling to score a goal that got us to Wembley.

"It's hard to explain the feeling and now I can't want to go to Wembley – it will be a special day."

The team were presented with their trophy on the day and had a picture taken with former Albion winger Kevin Kilbane.

Each member of the team will now travel to the Cup final in May, where they will be honoured at half-time.