Academy stars warm up in Salou

THE West Cork Academy’s U14 Schoolboys squad are off to Catalonia to compete in the 2024 Smart Football Cup tournament as preparation for this summer’s annual SFAI Kennedy Cup. This week’s Elite Smart Football Cup tournament at the Futbol Salou Sports Centre in Salou, Tarragona, sees Eamonn Bradfield’s Kennedy Cup team facing world-renowned professional academies between Friday, April 26th and Sunday, April 28th. Only two Irish teams are tak- ing part: League of Ireland club Shelbourne FC and the West Cork Academy. Competing in an initial four- team group, the region’s 2024 Kennedy Cup representatives will play their opponents in a round-robin format. West Cork couldn’t have asked for three tougher tests. The Academy will face some of the best Korean, Dutch, and Spanish footballers that the global U14 Elite grade has to offer over the first two days of the tournament. A friendly against a local side, Cambrils, has been organised for Thursday, April 25th.

Korean U14 champions Ulsan HD are first up on Friday. Later that day, the West Cork Academy takes on Fusion Academy from Holland. Fusion is a professional academy just outside Amsterdam. They are a professional nursery for players that aim to join Ajax, Utrecht, and AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie (Dutch League). Opponent number three for the U14 Schoolboys is rising La Liga club Girona, owned by the City Group (who also own and fund Manchester City) and whose seniors currently lie third in the Spanish top flight behind only Barcelona and Real Madrid. West Cork must contend with a 9am Saturday morning kick-off against a team containing some of Spain’s biggest U14 rising stars.

Irrespective of results, the West Cork Academy could not have asked for better preparation for June’s SFAI Kennedy Cup at University of Limerick. It is a big weekend for the West Cork Academy with the U12 Schoolboys side scheduled to take part in a glamour SFAI National U12 Schoolboys Trophy semi-final against North Dublin District Schoolboys League at Clonakilty RFC’s astro facility on Saturday (2pm kick-off) after West Cork overcame North Tipperary in the quarter finals. Shaun Hough’s side registered a 7-1 win thanks to Johnny O’Loughlin (3), Rory Hurley, Ed Hough, Ryan Crowley and Danny Carroll goals At U15 Schoolboys level, Don and JJ Hurley’s West Cork Academy team has qualified for an SFAI Munster U15 Shield final. They take on Clare School- boys League in this season’s provincial U15 Shield decider.
Prior to that, the U15 School-boys squad must make the arduous journey to the Inishowen peninsula in Donegal for Saturday’s SFAI National U15 Schoolboys Shield semi-final (2pm) against Inishowen.