A FOOTBALL-MAD schoolboy says his dreams have come true after he was chosen to lead the teams out in tomorrow’s Community Shield at Wembley.

Nine-year-old Sam Snape, from Bowes, near Barnard Castle, will be one of the mascots for the game, which acts as a curtain-raiser to the new season.

The match will be contested by the winners of the Premier League, Manchester United, and their cross-city rivals Manchester City, who won the FA Cup.

It will be the first time the teams have met in the match since 1956.

Sam, who was born in Manchester but moved north several years ago, is hoping for a Manchester United win.

The Bowes Hutchinson Primary School pupil is a big Manchester United fan and his favourite player is Serbian centre-back Nemanja Vidic.

Sam entered a competition organised by The Sunday Times and McDonald’s to be one of 22 mascots at the game.

His mother, Meg, said they saw the competition while reading a story about another of Sam’s idols.

She said: “We were reading an article about Wayne Rooney a couple of weeks ago and we saw the competition, so answered the question and applied.”

Sam, who plays football for his school, said: “I could not believe I had won. I was just speechless.

“This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I am most looking forward to walking out with the players; it should be brilliant.”

Sam, his mother and his father, Chris, will also meet Sir Geoff Hurst, who scored a hat-trick in the 1966 World Cup final, before watching the game.

Mrs Snape said: “It should be a fantastic experience for Sam, although I think his dad is looking forward to meeting Geoff Hurst more, because Sam does not really know who he is.”