IT’S almost here!

The scene is set for this weekend’s KBB Suffolk FA Grassroots Festival sponsored by McDonald’s.

A record 180 teams have signed up for the two-day festival taking place at Whitton United FC on the outskirts of Ipswich.

The festival will have a Women’s World Cup theme – and England legend Kelly Smith will be in attendance on Saturday.

Smith is England’s all-time leading goalscorer, finding the net 46 times for her country and winning 117 caps in an illustrious career that included playing in six major tournaments.

The McDonald’s Fun Football Zone, which is made up of a number of inflatables, will also be visiting the festival on Saturday. These include an inflatable pitch, a Dribble Zone, a Speed of Shot, a PowerSave, a celebration Knee Slider and an activity book station.

There will also be a number of Suffolk FA partners present including Ball Launcher, Phoenix Sporting Goods and Total Football, as well as the Co-op supporting the Futurestars charity collecting old football kits to be donated to schools and clubs in Ghana.

It is hoped one of the Ipswich Town mascots will be attending along with Wilma, the Suffolk Wildcats mascot.

Suffolk FA Mini Soccer & Youth Football Development Officer James Morley, who is co-organising the festival, said: “It only feels like yesterday that we at Whitton United for last year’s festival, and we are now only a couple of days away and we can’t wait to get underway this season.

“We have tried to make this year’s festival the biggest one yet by providing more places for teams and as many formats as we could offer. We would like to thank all of our partners for supporting us again this year and helping to provide football for teams throughout Suffolk.

“A massive thank-you to our long-time sponsors KBB, without whose support we wouldn’t have been able to grow the festival to where it is today. Also to McDonald’s who have joined us this year to add another dimension as an invaluable partner.

“Good luck to all teams over the weekend and we hope you all enjoy the festival as much as each member of Suffolk FA enjoy their weekend.”