Player Care Officer Wayne Poulson wrote about the experience:
The Club found out a few weeks ago that King Charles III would be visiting Luton in which we had to keep a secret until a press release went out closer to the date of the event.
The Academy had been given this extraordinary and amazing opportunity to offer some of the players the chance to meet him. After the press release went out and we had been giving permission to start recruiting from within the Academy, I focused on those who lived within the Luton Town post code.
The parents at first did not believe that I was being serious, I had to repeat on numerous occasions “yes, I did say the King”, when asking if you think your child would be interested in meeting King Charles during his visit to Luton.
During the build-up, John Kelly (Luton Town Under 10) and Kyron Roberts-Edema (Luton Town Under 15) had been asked to take part in a pre-build up interview for Greatest Hits Radio and this opportunity gave the chance for the Academy players to experience some media/public speaking training.
They were excellent representatives of themselves, their family, and the Club as they both spoke with confidence and well-educated responses.
On the day of the event and even after a two hour wait the players where in positive attitudes and still had great excitement in anticipating his arrival. When King Charles arrived, he was greeted to a warm welcome from all in attendance. What really stuck out for me was the practice and effort to acknowledge not only the organisations that had been invited to meet the King but the time and effort he took to engage with the crowd showing a real appreciation for everyone.
When talking to the players, he asked “who do you think will win the world Cup and why are you not in school?” which made everyone smile! He also asked about Luton Town Football club and the Academy, how the boys are getting on this season and what they thought of life living in Luton.
The overall response from the players, was the club not only provides them with an excellent coaching programme but education and life experiences like today being one I will never forget.
