 The
UEFThe
Republic of Ireland amateur representative squad under the
stewardship of Gerry Smith will next week travel to Malopolska,
which is in the south eastern corner of Poland on the border
with Slovakia, to compete in the finals of the UEFA Regions
Cup. The squad will fly into the regional capital, Krakow
before transferring to their base in Malopolska. The competition
will run from the 2nd to the 9th July 2005.
A
Regions Cup which is held every two years, is UEFA’s
competition for regional amateur representative teams. The
competition, which is open to all 52 UEFA member associations
starts in an even year with the final tournament in the following
odd year. The competition, which was first completed in 1999,
is part of UEFA’s campaign to foster the grassroots
and amateur sectors of the game and affords amateur players
throughout Europe the opportunity to play on the European
stage.
The
finals of the inaugural competition were held in Veneto, Italy
with the hosts defeating the Spanish representatives in the
final. The final stages of the 2001 event were played in the
Czech Republic with Moravia defeating the representative side
from Portugal following a penalty shoot-out in the final. The
finals of the 2003 competition were staged in Germany where
the Italians were again successful defeating the French representatives
in the final.
The
draw for the final stages of this years’ competition was
held recently in Krakow and is as follows:
|
|
Group
A |
|
Group
B |
|
A1 |
Poland |
B1 |
Romania |
|
A2 |
Slovakia |
B2 |
Republic of Ireland |
|
A3 |
Bulgaria |
B3 |
Spain |
|
A4 |
Czech
Republic |
B4 |
Ukraine |
Ireland Fixtures:
03/07/2005 Romania
05/07/2005 Ukraine
07/07/2005 Spain
Squad:
David Conroy (Ballymun United), Brendan O’Connell (UCC),
Stephen Barry (Cherry Orchard), Dougie Dolan (Portmarnock),
Brian Buckley (Fairview Rangers), James Walsh (St Michael’s),
Ken Howie (Rockmount), Keith Bruen (Belgrove), Ian Cherry (Belgrove),
Barry Flynn (Portmarnock), Ray Whelehan (Tolka Rovers), Tony
Doyle (Belgrove), Sean O’Connor (Crumlin United), John
O’Neill (Wayside Celtic), Ian Callaghan (Wayside Celtic),
Declan O’Connell (Douglas Hall ), Ruari Beechinor (Rockmount),
Wayne Griffin (Malahide United).
UEFA.com
has interview Gerry
Smith click on link to read...
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