Kleinwort Benson Muratti Mascot winners announced!

James Qualtrough | May 4, 2012 | 0 Comments

The ten Kleinwort Benson Muratti Mascots have been selected.

36 primary school children entered the competition, which was run by Muratti sponsors, Kleinwort Benson, with support from the Jersey Football Association, and launched at Janvrin Primary School on 20 April.

Ten children (aged 9-11 years old) are needed to walk out with the Jersey and Guernsey teams at the Kleinwort Benson Muratti Vase Men’s Final on 7 May at Springfield.

Entrants were asked to fill in and send entry forms into Kleinwort Benson, stating why they thought they should be selected to be a mascot. The tricky decision fell to Sean Baudin, Senior Officer of Kleinwort Benson in Jersey, and Head of Fiduciary Services, and David Brookland of the Jersey FA.

Each winning mascot not only gets the chance to be a part of the big day and soak up some of the Muratti atmosphere, they also each get two tickets for seats in Springfield Stadium and a special match day t-shirt that will help to promote the Football Association’s “Respect” programme.

“It was a hard decision to make as each entry was a worthy winner in my eyes,” said Sean.

“We were really impressed with the number of children who had taken the time to enter, and I was glad to see a good mix of boys and girls. We even had an entry from Guernsey. The final ten that we chose were those children who, in our eyes, demonstrated that they would get the most value from being part of the biggest sporting event in the Channel Islands’ sporting calendar. That said all the entries showed a real passion for football, and demonstrated the sense of pride that representing Jersey brings to adults and children alike.”

One of the entries that stood out to the judging panel was Josh Jehan, 11, from St Johns School who said: “Football is my life. I play it, watch it, read about it and dream about it! It would be a great honour to walk out with the Islands’ best players. I play for Grouville FC as a goalkeeper and have been lucky enough to have had goalkeeper training with Gary Lloyd and would love to be in his place one day.”

Another one was Lucy Morley, 10, from St Luke’s who said: “I really love football and go to the Muratti every year with my Dad and cheer Jersey on. My big cousin is in the squad and if he was to get picked to play, I would be proud to walk out with him. I have family coming from Liverpool to watch the game.”

The ten Kleinwort Benson Muratti Mascots will be joined by Carter Bennett who was selected by the Jersey FA separately.

Jersey FA Chief Executive Paul Creeden commented: “The kids at Janvrin School were really enthusiastic at the launch and it was great to see and feel the excitement that the Kleinwort Benson Muratti still generates amongst the younger generation. I hope they enjoy their big day on Monday.”

The ten Kleinwort Benson Muratti Mascots are:

Name Age School

Josh Jehan 11 St Johns School

Kobi Le Cornu 11 De La Salle College

Alex Pope 9 St Lukes

Lucy Morley 10 St Lukes

Tommy Ward 10 Springfield

Megan Wood 11 Plat Douet

Billy Winton 11 Janvrin

Tegan Star Heys 9 JCG Prep

Thomas George 10 Janvrin

Aaron Tostevin 11 Janvrin

The Kleinwort Benson Muratti Vase Men’s Final is at Springfield on Bank Holiday Monday 7 May – 2pm kick off.

The tickets for the grandstand are on sale and available at Springfield and also Vowden Sports – price £10 per person.

Ground admission is payable on the day at £5 or £2 for under 16s and senior citizens.

The Kleinwort Benson Women’s Muratti is on Sunday 6 May at Springfield and is also a 2pm kick off. Admission is free as the Jersey Football Association would like to encourage as many people to come and watch as possible to ensure that the proper “Muratti” atmosphere is created at Springfield for the women.

Kleinwort Benson celebrates 50 years in Jersey this year, making it one of the longest established financial institutions in the island.