USA scholarship for Mildenhall footballer

Mildenhall-based footballer Tatum Cartner has won a scholarship to study and play at university in the USA.

The 18-year-old, who has been part of the successful Cambridge United and Cambridge Regional College (CRC) Shadow Scholars programme, has accepted the offer to move to North Carolina in August.

Cartner is one of three student footballers who have won scholarships after gaining distinctions in their two-year Sport Studies BTEC programme at CRC.

The Peterhouse Close resident will be at the University of North Carolina, playing in Division Two for the next four years.

“I have spoken to other people who have been to the US and I am very excited about going,” said Cartner.

“I can develop my football over there and it will be a really interesting experience and make me more independent.

“We will be playing football at the highest level possible and we will studying for our degrees at the same time.”

The Shadow Scholarship programme, which started with just 12 players four years ago, now has 16 in each of the two years and already has 18 signed up for the first year squad starting in September.