Final preparations underway for annual Umbro Cup at Drom

Date Published: {J}

Almost 50 teams from five different countries will travel to Galway next month for the seventh annual Umbro Cup, which will be hosted by Salthill Devon at its Drom complex.

The tournament will run from Wednesday August 3 to Saturday August 6 and will see more than 1,000 players and coaches from 49 different teams involved in 125 games across the four days of the tournament.

The organisers of the tournament have been hugely successful over the past number of years in attracting some of the top teams from the UK and Ireland, and this year is no different, with the likes of the FAI Emerging Talent squad being joined by Glasgow Celtic and Aberdeen in the Elite section.

Many players that have been with the FAI’s Emerging Talent squad in earlier years have gone on to be signed by teams in the UK. Recent success stories include former Salthill Devon player Joe Shaughnessy, who played in the 2006 and 2007 editions of the tournament and who recently made his first team debut for the Scottish club.

“Since its inception back in 2005, the tournament has become a major recruiting opportunity for the FAI who see the event as an ideal opportunity to spot talented young players who have the potential to play for Ireland at underage level and hopefully at senior level,” said Denis Burke, Tournament Director.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.