Spotting young footballing talent from across the district and developing them into Bradford City stars of the future is the key to the club's success.

That was the message from City players Wayne Jacobs and Danny Cadamarteri and former Bantam Ian Ormondroyd when they greeted cheering fans at a Bradford school yesterday.

The trio added their backing to the Telegraph & Argus Support Your City campaign which is being run to help ensure the club's survival.

The three players gave an assembly to star-struck pupils at St John's C of E Primary School in Dawson Lane, Bierley, to thank the youngsters for raising more than £7,000 from a sponsored penalty shoot-out.

They were asked questions from pupils about their careers, including what it was like to be a footballer, what trophies each of them had won and what it felt like to win a match.

Almost 400 children took part in the event, organised by the club's football in the community programme.

Half the cash will be kept by the school and the remainder will be pumped into helping the Bantams nurture young talent.

City striker Cadamarteri, who is from Bradford, said: "I think this programme is a great idea. The club needs to raise as much money as it can and it is really good for the community.

"It's important at this time that we can bring through players with the finances as they are. Putting work into coaching children is beneficial for the future of the club."

City's long-serving left-back Jacobs, who tasted success when the Bantams were promoted to the Premiership, said the club needed young fans to cheer on the team.

"Anything that helps us and anything that keeps the club and the community together has got to be good," he said.

Ormondroyd, who played for City in the late 1980s, said the cash raised was "unbelievable".

Lindsay Lomas, the schools Key Stage Two manager and an avid City fan, said: "Our children were looking forward to this visit.

"Some of the pupils never watch a City match or support Premiership teams so these visits really help to win their support."

City fan Gareth Siddle, 11, said the visit was "ace" and that he wanted to play for City in the future.

And fans Katherine Vinni-combe and Rhianna Pitts, both ten, said they really enjoyed the visit.