“THE RICE BOWL” .
The Rice Bowl, or to give it its full title “The Montague John Rice Trophy” was manufactured in Sheffield in 1919 and donated to Leicestershire Schools F.A. in March 1934. The presentation to the Association was made by the Rice family, owners of a local boot and shoe factory in Syston. Mr. M. J. Rice was a Director of Leicester Fosse and Leicester City FC. The trophy has been the pride of Leicestershire Schools F.A. ever since the first final in the 1934-35 season.
The first recorded final was in the spring of 1935 when the trophy was won by Clarendon Park School - now better known as St. John’s Primary School. In the first ten years the trophy only left the city once (despite the competition being open to primary schools in the city and county), when, in 1938 it was won by Kegworth Council School. Newry Junior School achieved the first-ever hat trick of victories in 1951/52/53 - Leicester City legend Graham Cross was in the latter team. The limelight then switched to the county with Newbold Verdon Primary School winning the trophy five years out of six in 1956/57/58/60/61 - they were beaten finalists in 1959! City schools dominated the sixties and seventies with wins by Overdale, Whitehall, Braunstone Frith, New Parks House and Scraptoft Valley Schools. The fiftieth anniversary of the Rice Bowl saw the final hosted by Leicester City FC, with Braunstone Frith beating Ravenhurst by two goals to one.
In recent years, the final has been held at the King Power Stadium.