A FOOTBALL team will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of their academy's links with Texas when they jet off on a sporting tour.

For the last decade, players from The King's Academy, in Coulby Newham, have flown out to play and coach football, build friendships with local church families and experience the American way of life.

This year’s trip will be extra special for retiring vice principal John Rhodes, whose sixth tour will be his last to the Lone Star state.

He said: “We ran the first Texas tour in 2005 and I’m looking forward to it this Easter as much as that trip ten years ago. Head of PE John Stewart and I will be accompanied by director of sport Chris Lynch, who was on that first trip too – as a student.

“The tour is a fantastic opportunity for the lads, giving them a taste of another culture, the chance to visit two major American cities, compete with local teams, visit schools and pass on their coaching skills.”

The group fly to Houston where they will stay with families of Champion Forest Baptist Church and have a training session with a soccer coach on their first day.

Their first match will be against Houston Texans before they leave for Dallas, visiting the University of Texas on the way and staying with families from The Heights Church.

Mr Stewart said: “When we’re in Dallas we will be going to an elementary school in a very deprived area to deliver some soccer clinics to the children. It’s all part of a great experience for the lads, both sporting and culturally.”

The boys have been fund-raising towards the tour, including raising £1,007 in a bag-pack at Morrisons.