Galway Utd fans links with Polish city leads to invitation for big U15 tourney

Date Published: 16-May-2013

A decision by a group of Galway United fans to base themselves in the Polish city of Torun for last year’s European Championships has developed into an invitation to the Galway FA’s U15 side to take part in an international tournament in the city next month.

The 19 youngsters from seven clubs around Galway will take on teams from Poland, Germany, France and Italy in the three-day tournament, which will run from Friday, June 28 to Sunday, June 30 after local organisers sent an invitation to the Galway United Supporters’ Trust (GUST)to send over a team for the event.

“A lot of Irish fans based themselves in Torun for the Euros, including myself and a number of Galway United fans, and we developed a relationship with the people of the city – the Mayor of Torun came over to Galway after the Euros to say ‘thanks’ to Irish fans for the colour and enjoyment they brought to Torun.

“The Torun City Council held an underage tournament in the city last year for clubs in and around Torun, but decided this year to make it an international tournament, and sent an invitation to GUST to enter a team. We passed that invitation on to the Galway FA, so they are sending the league’s U15 representative side over,” explained Tommy Shields, who has been the main driving force in forging links between Galway and Torun.

The Galway FA U15 team includes players form Barna/Furbo FC, Galway Hibernians, Knocknacarra FC, Mervue United, Moyne Villa, Renmore FC and Salthill Devon, and all are part of the FAI’s Emerging Talent programme in Galway.

Former Galway United captain Nigel Keady heads that FAI programme locally, and he will travel with the squad as manager, along with assistant manager and another former Galway United captain, Derek Rogers; along with Ger Curran and John Devlin.

“They have shown real dedication all year, travelling to Headford for training every Monday, and this is a nice reward for them after a long season. They have shown a big improvement on last year, so much so that three of them have been invited to trial for the Irish U15 side in July, and this trip will be a great experience for the lads,” says Keady.

It is not just football where links are being forged between Galway and Torun – a crew from Torun will come over to Galway next year for the Head of the River, and they are also looking at forging links with Scouting groups, as well as in boxing and other sports.

The GUST is funding the flights for the squad, with Torun City Council footing the bill for all transport, food and accommodation once the side arrives in Poland.