Courtesy: FAI


Cork City head to Europe for UEFA Futsal Cup

Monday, 17 August 2009

The Rebel Army will become the third Irish club to play in the UEFA Futsal Cup when they travel to Varna in Bulgaria for their Preliminary Round fixtures.

City won the third annual FAI Futsal League of Ireland title in March with a thrilling victory over St Patrick's Athletic to earn their place amongst the European elite of the 5-a-side game.

Stuart Ashton's young side will have a lot to live up to as both Ireland's previous representatives on the European stage - Shamrock Rovers in 2007 and St Pat's in 2008 - have at least secured one win out of their three games.

Cork will meet host club MFC Varna in their opening fixture on Thursday night then meet Moldovan champions SC Tornado on Friday before their final fixture against Turkish title-holders Gazi Üniversitesi.

FAI Futsal Co-ordinator Derek O'Neill believes City will be facing a testing time in Bulgaria but is confident they will represent their country well.

"This is going to be a massive challenge for City but they showed with their performances in the national competitions that they have a very talented young group of players," said O'Neill.

"Futsal at this level is extremely tactical and it will be a new challenge for many of the Cork players. Many of the City players were also part of the Colaiste Stiofan Naofa team that won the FAI Colleges & Universities Futsal Cup in May so they clearly have a lot of talent in their squad," He added.

"We have endeavoured to help City prepare for their trip by organising a friendly against a select team made up of all the best futsal players in the country and we're hoping they can make a decent impact this week."

UEFA Futsal Cup Preliminary Round fixtures:

Thursday, August 20 Varna v Cork City (7:30pm);
Friday, August 21 Cork City v Tornado (5:30pm);
Sunday, August 23 Gazi Üniversitesi v Cork City (5:30pm).







Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com