Ten great clubs from the North of Ireland will compete in this year's Umbro Galway Cup, the leading underage international soccer tournament in Ireland, taking place August 5th -9th in Salthill Devon FC, Drom Soccer Park. Donegal DL are the surprise inclusion in the Elite section of the tournament, who will take on five big UK Clubs, Ireland FAI Squad and MSK Zilina FC from Slovakia. Donegal DL, coached by Eunan Brolly and Marty Duffy have recently won the 'Jim Cashin Inter League All-Ireland Cup', defeating Waterford in the final after impressive wins against Galway and Kilkenny earlier in the campaign. Many of the players have had trials overseas with clubs in England and Scotland and some have been capped for the Republic of Ireland at underage level.
Northern Ireland teams to watch at the U13 group include Derry City, Grosvenor Youth, Rosario, Maiden City, and Barn United. Derry City FC, plays in the FAI Premier Division, the top tier of league football in the Republic of Ireland, and is the only participating club from Northern Ireland. They qualified for the 2007 Setanta Cup, as well as the preliminary rounds of the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League, and were accepted into the restructured FAI Premier Division for 2007.The club had a disappointing league campaign last season, finishing 7th despite being pre-season favourites. However, they did manage to win their 8th eircom League Cup, thanks to a 1-0 victory over Bohemians at the Brandywell.
Drumahoe FC, also from Derry will compete in the Under 17 Girls Competition and Ballymoor FC will compete in the Boys U17 group. Ballymoor F.C. was set up in 2003 to accommodate the youth of the Brandywell, Lone Moor and Ballymagroarty areas of Derry City. In the Boys U15 group, Limavady return to claim the cup with Newhill FC from Belfast also hoping for a win. Finally, Eddie Irvine Sports FC will play in the Boys U14 Group. Eddie Irvine Sports employ well-known IFA coach Bobby Murphy, who has established a link with English Championship team Preston North End FC.
The Umbro Galway Cup is in its fourth successive year and is becoming a major contributor to the promotion of sports in Ireland, and the generator of substantial tourism revenues for the City of Galway. It is a member of the Umbro International tournament group since January 2006 and along with the Donosti Cup in San Sebastian in Spain, the Dana Cup in Denmark and the Dublin Cup, among others, the Umbro Galway Cup is now considered one of the leading underage soccer competitions around the globe. Details relating to spectator tickets and special passes to Drom Soccer Park during the week long event, will be released shortly. To receive more information on the 2008 Galway Cup, please visit www.galwaycup.com or contact Denis Burke, Tournament Director on info@galwaycup.com or +353 (0)91 521177.