An aspiring footballer from Oaklands College has been selected to join the English Colleges Football Association (ECFA) National Team.

Romelle Alomenu, 16, a member of the St Albans Football Academy (SAFA), based at the St Albans Campus, beat hundreds of students from across England to be selected for the squad, impressing judges at two trials.

“I felt privileged to have been picked, and also surprised. It is a good opportunity for me and might mean I get picked for other things in the future. It will also give me a chance to play at the highest level of colleges,” said Romelle, who lives in Hatfield and studies sport & exercise science while training with the academy.

Alomenu will now take part in the ECFA National Team programme, which includes a training camp at Etihad Campus, home of Manchester City FC, a game against the Welsh Colleges FA team and a tour of Italy where they will play teams from Italian colleges.

SAFA manager Steve Castle said: “It is an absolute pleasure to see Romelle selected. We take pride in having lads that can compete at such a high level. We hope he will do himself justice and we wish him the best of luck.”