Under-16s compete in inaugural Ugo Ehiogu Memorial Cup

Our Academy this week hosted the inaugural Under-16 Ugo Ehiogu Memorial Cup at Hotspur Way.

Held in honour of our late former Under-21s Coach, who tragically passed away in 2017 following a cardiac arrest, the two-day Under-16 tournament saw budding young players from six clubs – including our own – enjoy developing their skills in an elite, competitive environment.

Teams representing Liverpool, Fulham and Charlton Athletic joined our youngsters and those of Aston Villa and Sheffield United – and fittingly it was the latter two clubs, both of whom Ugo represented during his playing career, that made the final, with Villa ultimately winning on penalties.

Club Ambassador Ledley King was on hand across both days, joined by a number of our current and former Academy coaches who worked with Ugo, including FA Technical Director John McDermott, who helped Ledley to hand out the trophy, winners’ medals and individual awards on Thursday afternoon. Ugo’s former Aston Villa team-mate Darius Vassell, part of the winning Villa Under-16 coaching team, also joined the presentation ceremony, paying his own tribute to the ex-England international.

A number of former Academy players including Japhet Tanganga, Oliver Skipp, Anthony Georgiou, Jack Roles and Shayon Harrison, plus Ugo’s former assistant coach Matt Wells, now Head Coach at Colorado Rapids in America, showed their support by sending in video messages addressing the tournament’s participants, explaining more about the lessons they learned from Ugo and his ongoing legacy.

Current Under-21s assistant coach Troy Archibald-Henville, one of the key figures behind the tournament’s inception, said: “This is something that’s been on my mind for a while and I’m really glad we’ve got it going. Since I started coaching, a lot of people have had really good things to say about Ugo, who was a great man and someone who was passionate about player development. We wanted to host an Under-16 tournament, so it was just an idea to implement that and at the same time, pay our respects to someone whose teachings are still ongoing to this day. Underneath everything, as always, we want the players to develop and enjoy themselves. Ugo was someone who would help to guide, develop and shape players, which is what we all stand for as coaches, and that’s what we want to continue doing.”

Ledley added: “It’s important to keep Ugo’s memory alive. He was not only a tremendous footballer, but a tremendous football person, which he showed going into the latter chapter of his career with coaching and developing young people. I had the opportunity to work a little bit closer with Ugo after our playing careers and the best thing you can say about him is how much he was loved by everyone who came across him. Events like this will go a long way to ensuring that everyone remembers him and carries his values on long into the future with the next generation of players.”