Chairman Tim Bale was nominated at county and national level for an FA Charter Standards award for his contribution to grassroots football, having led the club's £900,000 expansion bid.

His reward was a VIP trip to Wembley to watch the Community Shield between Manchester United and Portsmouth.

He was presented with the award by Liverpool legend Ian Rush and met Sir Trevor Brooking and Sir Geoff Hurst, England's 1966 World Cup final hat-trick hero.

The following day it was the turn of the club's Mini Regals Under-10s, taking part in the Charter Standard Clubs Festival at Wembley.

Josh Watson, brother of one of the players, wrote the following report:

On Monday 11th August, Harborough Town Mini Regals U10 achieved every young footballer's dream, playing on the hallowed turf at Wembley.

The team were invited by the organisers, McDonalds and the FA to play in a national football festival against teams from all over the country.

The teams also had the opportunity to meet Fabio Capello the England Manger, and Sir Geoff Hurst, England's 1966 World Cup final hat-trick hero.

The team also travelled in style, courtesy of the Leicester City Team Coach.

Throughout the day, the teams played four matches, one of these being at the magnificent Wembley Stadium. The others matches were played at the nearby Northwick Park, where there were activities for all the family, including coach the coaches and many more football based activities.

The Regals had a fantastic day, winning convincingly every match they played, scoring a total of 20 goals and not conceding any!

Every player put in 100% effort in to every match and played extremely well and they all thoroughly deserved the honour of playing at Wembley.

As a team they played some lovely free flowing football, ripping defences apart.

The defence was also rock solid, and never looked like they would concede.

Over the course of the day they beat New Marske, from Redcar, 3-0 with goals from Ryan Davies and Tom Shellard who got two. They also beat Victoria Dock Rangers from Hull 3-0, the goals coming from Elliot Coe, Isaac Watson and Ryan Davies.

In the final game at Northwick Park, the put in an emphatic performance, thumping Alyesham from Norfollk 9-0, with the goals coming from Ryan Davies, Elliot Coe two and Tom Shellard and Matt Brown both netting hat-tricks.

Finally, the highlight of the day and what everyone had been looking forward to, the game at Wembley. Before the match, Fabio Capello had his photo taken in front of the 600 young players.

There was also a speech from Sir Geoff Hurst welcoming all of the players. Each team also had their photo taken with the '66 World Cup hero before their individual matches.

All of the teams followed in the footsteps of some of the worlds best players when they walked out the tunnel into the massive stadium.

The Regals game was played against Fullwood Juniors who they beat 5-0, with the goals coming from Ross Barnett, Ryan Davies, Matt Brown and Elliot Coe (2).

To begin with the boys seemed awe-struck, however, once they got over their nerves, their performance was delightful for the family and friends watching.

They again played wonderful free flowing football. After the game, the teams walked up the famous steps to the royal box where each player received a medal and all the teams taking part received a commemorative plaque.

It was a fantastic experience for all the players and they must feel very honoured to have played on the most prestigious stadium in the country in front of the national coach.

Many top players do not even get the opportunity to play on this pristine pitch.

It is a huge achievement and honour for the lads as it was for the parents and grandparents that travelled down to support them – what a great day!

Manager Ben Ward said: "It was a day these kids will never forget and one I won't either," he said.

"Wembley is where the great games are played, the cup finals and the international matches, now these lads can watch on the TV in the future and say 'I played there.'

"There are plenty of top players who never get to step out on this pitch, so for these kids to do it was just incredible.

"Everyone has seen Geoff Hurst's goals in the 1966 final, so for him to give a few tips to my team is great – but I'll be expecting a few hat-tricks next year.

"The boys also had an extra special bonus because we travelled down on the Leicester City team bus.

"It had tables, chairs, DVD players and the boys loved it - that just capped off an amazing day for them."

The event had been organised by McDonald's, the Football Association's community partner, as the culmination of a regional festival tour which saw more than 20,000 children receive free coaching at 50 regional festivals.

And Sir Geoff is hopeful some of the youngsters on show might be back pulling on an England shirt in the future.

"I was delighted to be involved with a scheme that was able to give the kids the chance to play at Wembley," he said.

"The day was completely for the players and when I looked at the faces on the Harborough team when they came off the pitch I could see what it meant to them.

"They've had the chance to play at this great stadium and you never know some of them might be back one-day playing professionally."

The McDonald's National Festival aims to boost the standard and availability of qualified coaching for young players in every community.