Andy McCann has barely settled back into the school routine after the summer break. His day job keeps him occupied as an assistant headteacher at Great Sankey High School in Warrington, where the academic year is now in full motion.
Yet within days, he will step away from the classroom for eight days to take charge of an England team competing on the international stage.
McCann manages the Cheshire League, a representative outfit assembled from the finest talent in the Cheshire League Premier Division. His squad claimed the FA Inter-League Cup by defeating the Herts Senior County League 3-1 at Leicester's King Power Stadium on 9 May 2026, a victory that earned them the honour of representing England in the UEFA Regions Cup.
What is the Regions Cup?
The competition is an amateur tournament established in 1996 and staged every two years since 1999, with the exception of 2021 when Covid forced a postponement. Teams from participating nations either qualify or receive nomination before entering the intermediate round, where they are divided into eight groups. The group winners advance to the finals.
Spain has claimed the trophy four times, Italy three, Poland twice, and the Republic of Ireland, Portugal, Croatia and the Czech Republic have each won it once. No England team has ever reached the final stages of the competition.
On 7 September, McCann and his squad will depart for Sweden to compete in three group matches and pursue the chance to become the first England representative to progress to the finals. According to UEFA's official announcement, Cheshire Football League has been placed in Group 3 alongside Algarve (Portugal), Järvenpää United (Finland), and Gothenburg (Sweden, the hosts).
McCann explained how the opportunity emerged.
During the Inter-League Cup, the chairman Rob Goodwin-Davey - who is Mr Cheshire League - kept saying to me there was a chance we could go and represent England, but I wasn't really thinking about that. I was purely focused on trying to win the cup.
Once the trophy was secured, the reality began to sink in.
As a management team, we met up a few times to go through final details, tactics, set-pieces and it was then we started to realise it was quite big.
The response from supporters has been enthusiastic.
But once we won it, people in the pub were saying to me: 'Once the World Cup's out the way, you're England manager!'
McCann is keen to contextualise the role.
Without wanting to compare it too much to 'real life', this job is a bit like being an international manager, albeit a much lower level. I'm sure it will dawn on me when we board the flight, but it's a real privilege and an honour to be England manager for a week, at whatever level. We've worked out we're the England D team, so we'll take that!
The full England experience
The squad will receive the complete England treatment upon arrival at the airport.
When we get to the airport, we get the full England kit. So whatever you've seen England wearing at the World Cup, it's exactly the same. The boys get a full tracksuit, three t-shirts, three training shirts, three pairs of shorts, three pairs of socks - and we will play in the full England kit.
For many of the players, donning the national colours represents a career highlight.
A lot of the lads are buzzing for that alone. You have your captains and drivers who are keeping everyone focused on winning the competition, but for some of the lads, just being able to pull the shirt on in a competitive game is massive.
Amateur players with professional day jobs
What distinguishes Cheshire League from their professional counterparts is that every member of the squad holds a day job. The 18-player squad comprises AJ Atherton, George Anthony, Callum Burgess, Matt Dixon, Niall Dolan, Amir Hajri, Harry Johnston, Tim Kinsella, Harrison Mather, Liam McDowell, Rob Payne, Rhys Peers, Ben Powell, Matt Saunders, Bailey Sherlock, Lee Simmons, Walker Stone, and Arron Woodward.
Captain Tim Kinsella works as an electrician, while vice-captain Liam McDowell is a quantity surveyor. Two squad members are qualified PE teachers, and others are studying PGCEs to enter the profession.
The logistics of releasing players for eight days presented a challenge.
Some lads are having to take unpaid leave, but the majority are taking it as normal leave and just treating it as an opportunity to have eight days off and enjoy it. We haven't had any issues with anyone not able to travel, but it was a concern.
McCann honoured a commitment made before the Inter-League Cup final.
In the preparation for the final, as a bit of a motivator, I guaranteed the final squad that if we won, they would be the squad I'd take to Sweden. I felt it was right and I've stuck to that. The only one missing is Juliano Rosa Silva, who played every minute of the cup, but is injured. He is heartbroken he can't play.
Scouting the opposition
Gathering intelligence on opponents at this level presents practical difficulties.
For the first game, we've got an FA-registered coach who will be helping out, but his main priority is watching the other teams, so when we play on Monday, he's going to go and watch the other two. For the second and third games, we'll know a lot more, as I'm sure they will too, and we'll be a lot more prepared. For the first game, we'll be focused on what got us to the King Power and what helped us win it.
McCann has constructed a squad tailored to specific strengths.
We've built a team that we feel is quite unique in the way we approached it. Without giving too much away, there are probably more technical players in the Cheshire League than what we've picked, but we've picked a team that is to our strengths and we've got a lot of power and pace in the team.
The opposition will present varying levels of challenge. Cheshire are ranked 17th among the 34 teams competing, facing Finland's Järvenpää United (ranked 11th), Portugal's Algarve (ranked 7th), and hosts Gothenburg (ranked 30th).
Professional preparation at amateur level
Despite the amateur status of the competition, McCann's preparation has been meticulous.
We're just very focused. For now, that's the next step. We've done everything we can. We've got the full eight days planned down to the hour. Rest, recovery, recuperation, we've got down the times we're eating, we've mirrored training with game times. If you're going to do it, you do it to the best of your ability.
The manager has drawn on historical experience.
In the build-up to the final, Rob got three of the Mid-Cheshire team that won the Inter-League Cup in 2004 to do a speech after the last training session, which was really nice. I met two of them over the summer holidays and asked them about what they felt was good about the trip and I've listened to them and put some things into place.
McCann's ambitions extend beyond simply representing England.
We're not going just to enjoy it and be England for seven days, but get beaten. The focus is winning all three games and getting to the finals, but I also see this as a chance to raise the profile for the next generation. It's massive.
What happens next
Cheshire Football League's group-stage campaign will run from 7 to 13 September 2026 in Gothenburg, Sweden. According to UEFA's match centre, fixtures against Algarve and Gothenburg remain scheduled as part of the intermediate round. The winners of each group will progress to the finals.
Once the trip concludes, McCann will return to his duties at Great Sankey High School, hopefully as an England manager who guided his team to the finals—albeit at amateur level. For now, the focus remains on the challenge ahead in Sweden and the opportunity to make history for English football at this tier of competition.
