Despite England failing to qualify for Euro 2008 there will be one young English footballer on the pitch for the final. Eleven year old James Payne who plays for Ross Juniors has won a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to walk out, hand in hand, with Europe's best footballers courtesy of a nationwide competition run by McDonald's. James, and his coach Joe Loftus, who is just 16 years old, have been named as the lucky winners who will be travelling to the Final in Vienna on June 29th. World Cup legend Sir Geoff Hurst MBE, McDonald's Director of Football, visited James and Joe to personally congratulate them and give James tips on handling his moment in the spotlight. Footy-mad youngsters were invited to nominate their McDonald's football coaches and say why their coach deserved a trip to the UEFA EURO 2008 Final. They could win an amazing experience for themselves but also reward the volunteer football coaches who are often the unsung heroes of grassroots football. Sir Geoff Hurst said: "Through my involvement in McDonald's community coaching programme, which has so far created over 11,500 new grassroots coaches, I know how hard coaches work so it's great that McDonald's is recognising Joe's commitment. And what an experience James is going to have at the final – I know that the memories will live with him forever." James added: "I am so excited about winning the competition and going to the final with Joe. Joe is such a brilliant coach and although he is only 16, he's been helping my team for two years and makes training really fun." Joe added: "It's fantastic to be going to UEFA EURO 2008 and I'm so proud that James won this competition to take me. I really enjoy coaching the team and it will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch the Final and see James lead out the players. Who knows, I may even pick up some coaching tips!"
