Mum of one Sallie McIntyre will have the honour of leading St Joseph's U10s out at Wembley after gaining her FA Level One coaching qualification.

Earlier this year, Sallie, who lives in Limbury, was one of 160 mums across the country who took part in the Mums On The Ball campaign and, after successfully completing the five-session course, she is now assisting with the coaching at Joes.

She has also managed to secure her charges a place at the National Mini Soccer Festival at Wembley on Monday, August 11, where her Joes side will be competing among 56 teams.

Meanwhile, each youngster will also get a once in a lifetime opportunity to walk up the famous steps to the royal box, where they will be presented with a medal by Sir Geoff Hirst.

Sallie, who despite her three-year-old son not yet being old enough to lace up his boots, hopes she can now be an inspiration as he gets older and says she is enjoying every minute of her new found hobby.

She said: "I got involved with the coaching because it will give me the opportunity to play a more active role if my son ever wants to play football and, hopefully, I will be a good role model for him.

"I have had to overcome a fear of lack of knowledge of the game and also the stigma of being female in what is considered to be a male environment.

"However, I have discovered that there are so many girls and women involved in the game now.

"It should be a natural progression for women to get involved and I have enjoyed it thoroughly. Everyone was very welcoming and traditional views of the sport shouldn't stop any women from taking part."

She also had a message for other mums who have thought about swapping the touchline for the training pitch.

She said: "There are so many mums who take their children to football training anyway, yet they can often feel sidelined or even embarrassed to get more involved, but why shouldn't they step up?

"We are just as capable. This course has given me a new found interest and inspiration for both me and my son and could do the same for many others."