Mearns Castle Pipped At The Post In Coca-Cola 7's 'Field of Dreams' Final

Hampden Park was the venue for the Finals of the Coca-Cola 7's' last weekend, which saw boys and girls from schools all over Scotland battling it out to be 2006-2007 Coca-Cola 7's Champions.

And this season there was a special incentive for the finalists as the winning boys' and girls' teams, along with their coaches, will travel to London to visit the home of Arsenal FC courtesy of Coca-Cola.

The tournament kicked off last January with more than 7,000 school children taking part from Orkney to Galashiels. But it came down to a battle between Mintlaw Academy and St Augustine's High School in the girls' Final and Belmont Academy and Mearns Castle High School in the boys' Final.

All the schools reaching the Finals received a full set of kit from Coca-Cola, while Scotland Legend, Murdo MacLeod, former Hearts Captain, Gary MacKay, Rebus star Ken Stott & World Snooker Champion, John Higgins, were on hand to watch the players make their Hampden debut.

In the boys' Final both teams fought a hard battle and it was all action from the first whistle. After putting in a magnificent performance Belmont Academy ended up lifting the Cup, beating Mearns Castle by 3 goals to 1.

Commenting on the match, Murdo MacLeod said: "It was a brilliant day and Belmont Academy deserved to win, they have shown determination and skill all the way through the tournament but congratulations are also due to Mearns Castle for putting in a great performance. We saw some outstanding natural ability and with the right guidance several of the players have the potential to be professionals."

The girls' Final was between Mintlaw Academy and St Augustine's High School. Mintlaw retained the title beating St Augustine's 4-3 in a nail-biting penalty shoot out.

Alan Halliday, Regional Director of Coca-Cola Enterprises, agreed with Murdo on the success of the tournament:
"This is the 7th year of the Coca-Cola 7's and since the tournament started, over 38,000 players have participated, generating over 203,000 hours of physical activity and making it Scotland's largest schools' football competition. The key difference with the Coca-Cola 7's is that secondary schools can enter an unlimited number of teams, which means it is not just the elite players who get to play.

"In this free-to-enter Scottish Schools Football Association event, the Coca-Cola 7's gives every U-13 year old boy and U-14 year old girl in Scotland the chance to play on the hallowed turf of Hampden Park.

While the Finals are the showcase of the competition and the standard of football has been excellent, every pupil taking part has the chance to come away a better player having received top level coaching from Murdo, Chic & Gary."

Full results are available at www.coca-cola7s.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

• 7 a-side football tournament for girls and boys, now in its 7th year of operation
• FREE to enter for all Scottish Secondary Schools
• Officially organised by the Scottish Schools Football Association
• Schools can enter an unlimited number of teams
• Every player receives skills training by ex-professional managers/players
• 1st round played at venues throughout Scotland - over 7,000 players participating
• 2nd round played at selected SPL & SFL facilities - 1,600 players participating
• Regional Finals played at Lesser Hampden - 640 players participating
• National finals played at Hampden Park - 160 players participating
• Teachers' challenge match on Hampden Park at the Final - 36 teachers participating
• Since the Coca-Cola 7s kicked off in 2001 over 37,000 players have taken part in the tournament
• The players have burned off more than 87,000,000 calories and have run a distance of 240,000 miles which is equivalent to nearly 10 times round the world