ENGLAND manager Sven Goran Eriksson surprised hundreds of East Lancashire schoolchildren when he sent them a good luck message prior to a football tournament at the Blackburn Rovers Academy at Brockhall.

Just hours before England's World Cup campaign began with a 1-1 draw against Sweden, Sven sent a fax to the Brockhall training ground wishing the Year Seven pupils all the best for the Harmony Tournament, organised to promote racial integration in the area.

More than 200 kids took part in the event, and they were 'buzzing' after they heard about the message, said organiser PC Steve Cox.

"Transco sponsored the event and they got in touch with the FA before the tournament to see if they could contact the England squad in Korea to ask if they could send us a good luck message," said PC Cox

"And three days before the tournament this fax came through."

The message read: 'To everyone at Brockhall on Saturday, Have a great day, from the England squad in Korea.'

"Everyone was gobsmacked," said Cox. "We couldn't believe he had actually taken the time out to send that through. It was great.

"The first thing we did when we gathered everyone round at the beginning of the day was to read it out.

"They were well impressed. Quite a buzz went round the sports hall. It went down really well."

There were 14 boys' and six girls' teams from 14 schools across Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley, which covers the Eastern Division of the Lancashire force.

The event was organised by Lancashire Constabulary and Rovers in a bid to 'integrate through the medium of sport'.

The seven-a-side competition was modelled on the World Cup with Moorhead High School really getting in on the act - they all sported Freddie Ljungberg hairstyles.

They won the Fairplay award for the sportsmanship and conduct.

The overall winners in the girls' section were St Christopher's and in the boys' section QEGS took the title.

QEGS soccer coach Simon Smith said: "It has been a fantastic year for the Year Seven team. They won the 11-a-side town competition and finished third in the national five-a-side contest."

Their team was made up of captain Dean Stott, Robert Turner, goalkeeper Darren Thornton, Elliot Breaks, Andrew Smith, Peter Matthews, Dan Brown, Duncan Burns and Mark Pickup.

They beat St Wilfrid's 1-0 in the final, their goal being scored by Andrew Smith.

The St Christopher's side, who won every game and didn't concede any goals, included Jessica Hargreaves, Emma Scott Miller, Jessica De Maine, Hannah Glendinning, Adele Vicente, Charlotte McCormack, Jessica Hartley.